Dreaming for the Present
by Minusmelle13
Summary: Sam has dreams about Mercedes after prom. nothing confuses him more then having futuristic dreams about a girl he never thought he would like. focuses mostly on samcedes with alot of other glee kids mixed in.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: this is not my first Samcedes fanfic but it is the first one I'm posting on here. I was watching their promaversary last night and I cried. Even through all the BS Samcedes prevails! I ship them hard. Very… Anyway this idea came to me. **

"Goodnight guys!" Sam said as he waved to Rachel and Mercedes. Prom was a blast, he admitted to himself. Even though he was basically homeless and got dumped more times then a trashcan Sam still had high hopes. And even with the entire prom Finn- Quinn, Jesse, Rachel drama it was still badass. And he was the only guy there who had two prom dates! How much more awesome can it get? Rachel was a smoking hot Jew like puckerman would say and Mercedes was a sassy diva with pipes that would make Aretha herself cry. "Not bad." Sam said to himself. He came inside his motel room and everyone was basically sleeping, all over the beds. He was getting use to it. It may have not been his home but at least he still had his family. Sam started to get undress thinking about his wild night. The dinner at breadsticks was awesome... Rachel looks nice in pink... Mercedes' dress- damn. Wait what? Sam shook those thoughts out of his head. I mean Mercedes was beautiful in all but... She's not really his type. But the dress did do wonders for her curves. And they did practically dance all night... And she smelled really good. "What the hell I'm I saying?" Sam put on his White shirt and pjs and laid down on the couch. He smiled to himself. "Great night." he mumbled before dozing off to sleep.

* * *

Sam woke up and looked around. He wasn't in his motel room or anywhere familiar. He was lying down in a big bed with really White sheets. Whiter then any sheets he had seen before. He got up and looked around. Sam called for his mom and dad. He got no answer. Then he called for his brother and sister, still no answer. Sam was starting to worry; he was actually starting to think that maybe he was in some weird horror movie dream... Where the dumb White kid decides to open the spooky door only to get bludgeoned to death- or something like it. Sam got up off the comfy bed and opened the door. He looked to the left then the right and saw two rooms on each side, and in front of him was a spiral staircase. Sam was thoroughly intrigued and even more so when he smelled something delicious coming from downstairs. He decided to go down the stairs only to find a whole spread of breakfast food on the table. From scrambled egg whites to whole-wheat pancakes. Sam smiled at the plate. He hadn't eaten like this in awhile; being on a budget meant cutting back on the things you love. Sam started pouring syrup and devouring his plate like a mad man.

"Slow down... You eat too fast you'll end up getting sick." Sam turned around hearing a familiar voice of a woman who was not his mother. He was shocked to see Mercedes jones standing behind him in pajamas smiling at him. He put down his fork and turned all the way towards her, shocked and confused.

"Mercedes... What are you doing here?" he asked

"What do you mean what am I doing here?" she said coyly. She sat down juxtaposed from him and started buttering some toast.

" Just what I said... What are you doing here? In your pajamas?"

"Well since I live here I thought that pajamas would be fine for the morning."

"Wait... You live here? Oh is this your place? Did I hit my head or something after prom and you decided to bring me here?"

"Prom? Sam what prom?"

"You, me and Rachel... We went to prom together last night! Geez someone must've really spiked the punch if you don't remember that."

"I remember. But that wasn't last night. That was at least six or seven years ago. Gosh you know I haven't seen Rachel since I hosted the tony awards." Sam looked at her with so much confusion that he couldn't comprehend what she was saying.

"Wait... Six or seven what? Where am I?" Sam started panicking, Mercedes got up to calm him down, and oddly her touch did settle him a little.

"Sam... Relax. You're in your home, with me... Your wife." Sam eyes then resembled a bug as he looked at Mercedes.

"My... My what?" he asked.

"Your wife, ball in chain... You would think after three years of marriage you would remember."

"Three years... No, no this can't be happening!" Sam started to pace. "This has to be a dream, that's right a dream... _You know maybe I was watching too many twilight zone marathons before bed... You know the one with William Shatner still freaks me out to this day __**andicantbreathe!"**_ Sam's words smudged together as his breathing became shorter. Mercedes ran over to the sink and got him a glass of water. He drunk it down quickly then he took deep breaths. Mercedes took him over to the couch so that he would be more comfortable.

"Mercedes... You don't understand when I went to sleep I was still in high school, so were you, it was prom. We had fun but it was nothing more than that."

"Maybe you were just dreaming because in reality that was along long time ago." Sam felt her inching closer to him; he scooted further down to get away from her.

"So... Three years huh?" he finally managed to look at her after the initial shock wore off.

Yeah... Three years and 10 months. Our anniversary was last week." she lightly laughed.

"Why don't I remember any of this?"

"I don't know... Sam I really don't know. I honestly can't believe you would forget me... _I mean us."_

"I-I'm sorry I am. I just can't remember any of it. Can I ask you a question? Why did I choose you?" Mercedes then gave him the angriest look she could think of.

_"Choose me?_ You didn't choose me Sam Evans... You fell in love with me. " Her voice was so modest, Sam apologized and she accepted but she still looked very angry.

"Well I guess I'll get in the shower." Mercedes got up and Sam pulled her arm.

"Hey no hard feelings right? I didn't mean it... I guess I just have the brain of a teenager."

"Actually a lot of hard feelings... First you forget our anniversary, then you come up with this little plan to conveniently 'forget' everything so that you could make me believe it wasn't all a damn hoax!"

"What? What are you talking about? I'm not faking! In my reality all we did was go to prom... You're not even my type!" Sam yelled. Mercedes' eyes swelled. She could feel the tears forming in her face.

"No... You're absolutely right. I'm not you're type_! She is!"_ she threw a picture at him. He picked it up; it was a picture of him in a heavy petting session with a blonde girl.

"What's this?"

"Umm I don't know just the girl you've been having an affair with!"

"Affair? What? I'm not that kind of guy.. Mercedes you gotta believe me. I have no idea what the hell is going on here!"

"Save your lies for the divorce lawyers. I honestly was stupid enough to think that you would wake up this morning and tell me like a man that you were cheating. I figured you owed me that much... But hey, ' I'm not your type' was good enough for me." Mercedes wiped her face and ran upstairs.

* * *

"Mercedes... Mercedes!" Sam yelled

"Mercedes..." Sam mumbled.

"Sam.? Sam wake up son!" Sam woke up to his father standing over him. He jumped up from the couch.

"Dad? What happened?"

"You're gonna be late for school! Come on, shower time!" After Sam got ready for school and he was about to leave his father called to him.

"Don't forget your keys." his father threw them at him.

"Thanks dad.."

"Oh Sam..." his father started. Sam looked up inquisitively. "Who's Mercedes?" Sam's eyes popped open. "Why?" he asked.

"Cause you said the name many times in your sleep."

"I was probably driving a Mercedes... You know the car." his father nodded and waved Sam off.

* * *

The school day was the same as always- boring. The classes and even lunch couldn't bring Sam out of his funk. The dream that he had about Mercedes ripped him a new one. None of it made any sense. Why would he dream that Mercedes was his wife of three years only to be cheating on her? Sam's pace slowed down drastically after he left math class. Next was Glee Club and he couldn't really handle seeing Mercedes today and it felt weird. Sam finally entered the choir room and Mercedes was talking to Artie... As always. Sam was starting to think that something was going on between those two... He watched as Artie made her laugh and suddenly he felt a weird feeling- wait was that jealously? He sat down next to Rachel trying not to think about it.

"Prom was really fun." Rachel said to him. Sam was lost in thought he wasn't even listening to her.

"I said... _PROM WAS REALLY FUN."_ Rachel said louder.

"Hmm? Oh yeah it was. You and Mercedes were like the best prom dates I guy could ask for." he managed to say.

"Thank you. Even though I got slapped and Finn totally ruined me and Jesse's intimate moment I think overall it will go down in Rachel berry's favorite moments catalogue... You know, for my autobiography on my early life... _Volume one of many of course."_

"Yeah..." Sam got up and decided to move. He had a lot on his mind and he didn't need to add Rachel Berry's crazy train to his list of distractions. When he was looking for a seat Mr. Shue walked in.

"Sam would you please have a seat... Thank you." the closest seat Sam could find was next to Mercedes. He reluctantly sat down trying not to think about her.

After glee club was finished people were just hanging out in the choir room. Artie went to the bathroom, which left Sam and Mercedes by their lonesome.

"Man... This class blows." Sam said using his Matthew Mcconaughey impression. Fully expecting Mercedes to tell him to shut up Sam put his head down.

Instead Merced laughed lightly. Like she did in his dream.

"That's really good. Seriously." she said to him. Sam raised his head. And looked her in the eye.

"Wow.. No one has told me they like my impressions before."

"Well, I like them... I think they're funny and accurate." Sam smiled at her. But before he could reply Artie came back from the bathroom.

"Mercedes? Let's go woman... You rolling?" Artie said.

Mercedes got up and took Artie by his wheelchair handles. She turned around to Sam. _"bye Sam."_ she flipped her raven-haired curly weave and waved at him. Sam waved back and watched as her and Artie left the choir room. Sam got up, he was the only one left. The night was an off one- the dream he had shook him raw. And then Mercedes talked to him today and told him she liked his impressions. What does this all mean? Sam thought walking out of the classroom.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: chapter 2. Enjoy, I hope you all get where I'm going with this. If not let me know. Thanks to all whom like it

Sam got home early so he could babysit his brother and sister. His father and mother were having a late night at their perspective jobs. His mom waited until he got there and then she ran out of the door. Stacy and Stevie were watching the television, they were so focused they didn't notice him at all. He sat back and watched it with them until it got pretty late. "Ok guys... Time for bed!" Sam said. They pouted for little bit then did as he asked. They got into their PJ's and lay down next to each other while Sam watched. He pulled the comforter over them and smiled.

"Night guys." he said.

"Why aren't you going to sleep?" Stacy asked.

"Because I'm not sleepy."

"Well neither are we! How come you get to stay up late we don't?" Stevie shouted.

"Because I'm more grown up than you... Now go to bed." he told both of them.

"Sam... Can I ask you something?" Stacy sat up and looked at him with wondering eyes.

"Ok one more question. Then it's bed time! Deal?" Stacy shook her head.

"What happened to Quinn?" Sam gave them both a wary look. "Why?"

"She used to help babysit us and now... It's like she vanished! What happened to her?"

"Well, Quinn's got other things to do... I'm sure she'll see you guys again real soon... Now bed time!"

"Is she your girlfriend?" Stevie asked.

"We made a deal! Only one question remember?"

Stacy and Stevie gave each other a knowing look. He basically answered their question for them. They giggled and closed their eyes. Sam stayed up to make sure that they were sleeping. Then he went over to the couch and started to flip the channels. Nothing was on except for a couple of movies. Sam flipped through Iron Man 2, The Notebook, and other bull crap. He decided to turn off the TV and go to sleep. He got down on his knees and prayed his nightly prayer to god, and then he laid down and closed his eyes, hoping to not have any silly dreams tonight.

* * *

Sam rubbed his eyes and cracked his neck trying to wake himself up. He looked down at the White sheets and automatically knew he was dreaming once again. He turned his head to see someone lying next to him. It was a beautiful blonde woman with a slim figure wearing absolutely nothing under his sheets. Sam smiled; he was starting to like this dream. He turned her over and she woke up.

"Hey..." she said.

"Hey back... He replied. Sam looked at her face... She seemed familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He was sure he seen her before.

"I am starving! Can we eat something?" she got up off the bed and walked over to the mirror. Sam's morning wood got harder as he admired her naked body.

She went into the bathroom and Sam got up. He went over to the mirror and looked himself over. His hair was shorter and he was built better than he ever was in high school. Sam smiled wide as he admired himself. "Now this is a great dream!" Sam mumbled. No more dreaming about Mercedes. He had a smoking hot wife who was currently showering in what looked like his apartment. Suddenly Sam's phone started ringing. He ran over to the bed to find it, he looked over the I-Phone to see who was calling. The title said "WIFE". Sam looked to the bathroom, and then looked at the phone again before picking it up.

"Hello?" Sam said.

"Hey baby, I just got home..." she said.

"Umm yeah..." Sam was totally confused. He now knew that this dream wasn't all he hoped it was.

"I know I said I wasn't getting in till tomorrow, but I thought I'd come home early and surprise you... But it seems like you're not here, where are you?"

"Wait is this... Mercedes?" Sam asked. He threw his head back into the pillow. The dream was about her.

"Yes, unless you have another woman in your phone under Wife." Mercedes said.  
Sam's lady lover came out of the bathroom with her hair wet and wrapped up in a towel. She blew a kiss over to him and began to dress herself.

"Hey... Can I call you back...? I'll... I will be home soon." he said to her.

"Ok... I love you." Mercedes said.

"Yeah... uh me too." Sam hung up the phone and his lady lover climb on the bed, crawling up him.

"Was that your wife?" she asked.

"Umm yeah... I guess it was." Sam admitted.

"Ugh! When are you going to be rid of her?"

"What?"

"You promised me that you were going to divorce her and marry me. I'm tired of sneaking around Sam! You need to make a choice... Me or Mercedes?"

* * *

Sam woke up before he could answer. He got up and went into the shower. The dream he had was even more confusing than the one from the night before. Oddly they both seemed connected somehow. Sam finally figured out that the blonde woman looked like the same one from the picture in his first dream. And in this one Mercedes was still his wife. Sam got dressed and headed for school. He figured he should tell someone about the dreams he been having. His father always told him that if he has a burden it was always good to share it with someone who cared. The who that someone was however- Sam didn't know.

In English class Sam sat next to Puck. Puck was sitting there carving a penis into the wooden desk. Sam shook his head.

"Hey man... Check it!" Puck nudged Sam to look.

"Dude you're defacing a desk... What do I need to see?" Puck removed his hand and showed Sam the carving.

"I wanted it to resemble the real thing." Puck smiled wide.

"Are you serious? That's gross." Sam admitted in a nasty monotone

"Jeez... What crawled up your culo today?" Puck asked.  
Sam slouched back and sighed.

"I've sort of been having these dreams... And I don't know what they mean or why."

"What kind of dreams? Like sexual? Because I don't see the problem there."

"No! Not sexual. Well... If it was it would be pg13. It's more drama then anything and it's confusing the hell out of me."

"Okay... now you're gonna need to elaborate who are the dreams about?"

Sam looked into Puck's inquiring eyes. He could tell that puck really wanted to know who it was. Sam struggled inside to tell him he's been having recurring dreams about the black girl from Glee club. So instead he said "You know what? Never mind." Puck asked him if he was sure and he nodded. The bell rung and Sam and Puck walked into the hallway together.

"Hey... You not going to glee club today?" Sam asked Puck who was going in the other direction.

"Yeah, I'll meet you there, I'm gonna go see if Lauren wants anything to drink before I go." Puck ran into the other direction leaving Sam to go into Glee club by himself. Thankfully he walked into class and no one was there besides Rachel, Finn, and Quinn. Sam sat down away from all of them.

"Hi Sam..." Quinn waved to him. Sam turned around and waved back in a very awkward and confused kind of way. After that everyone started brushing into the room and sitting all over the place. The only one Sam seemed to notice was Mercedes. She usually wears leggings and colorful clothing, but today she was wearing a pretty flowery dress, that actually fit her perfectly. It hugged every inch her curves and showed her assets nicely. Sam couldn't believe he was actually watching her walk into the classroom. He couldn't believe she didn't even look at him once. He couldn't believe he actually cared if she looked at him or not. They sat down and then Mr. Shue started talking.

"Ok guys... Nationals are fastly approaching and I had an idea. I know everyone wants solos and I also know everyone can't have them. So I thought that I would pair you guys together- two to a team and see who will be singing together at nationals."

"Boo! Been there, done that." Kurt exclaimed.

"Kurt I thought you would be happy... If you pick the right person you two will be headlining nationals." Mr. Shue said.  
Kurt rolled his eyes. Brittany and Santana laughed.

"Well I guess it's obvious I'm picking Finn. We maybe on a rocky road currently, but I for one think that if we have any chance at winning it has to be me and him." Rachel interjected.

"No Rachel! You can't choose Finn. I need you guys to loosen up. Try and do a duet with someone you wouldn't think you would sound good with. Think outside the box!"  
Rachel raised her finger to say something but Artie silenced her.

"Ok guys... You can go. But I want to know who your partners are gonna be by Monday!" everyone started getting up. Sam sat back and looked at Mercedes. She was rifling through sheet music and some of it fell. She bent over and for the second time Sam got a good look at her ass. It was big, but round... Supple. Sam found himself trying to get a better view; he then fell over in his chair.

* * *

Mercedes turned around and saw Sam on the floor. She went over to him and extended her hand out.

"You alright?" she asked him. He grabbed her hand and picked himself up.

"Yeah, No big deal I just fell over, I'm kind of clumsy like that." she looked up at him and he smiled while she wiped dust off of his shirt.

"Thanks for helping me." Sam said to her. Mercedes smiled and said "you're welcome. Just avoid tipping your chair next time." she walked down the small step and exited the classroom. Sam decided to follow her.

"You know we always seem to be the last ones left in the choir room." Sam said running up next to her.

"Yeah, I guess so..." Mercedes replied. She felt awkward. Sam never really spoken to her out of the choir room or the auditorium. She wondered what his problem was.

"So do you know who you're doing the duet with?" Sam's word vomit came quickly out of his mouth. He didn't even know why he asked. Did a part of him want to see if she would do it with him?

"Well... I've got options. My first choice will always be Kurt. But since Mr. Shue told us to think out of the box I was thinking Artie."

"Artie? You two do duets all the time!" Sam found himself raising his voice at her. Mercedes stopped walking and turned towards him with a confused look.

"Are you ok Sam? You kinda just yelled at me, and the only person I tolerate yelling at me is my dad... For singing too loud in my room."

"Uhh... Yeah I guess I'm just upset. Everyone is pairing off quickly and I'm gonna be left singing alone. And I got some pipes. I know! But I'm not Kurt. I can't pull off a duet by myself. Actually can you technically call it a duet if you do it alone?" Mercedes started laughing at his silliness. For some reason every time she smiled it made Sam smile.

"Did I say something funny?" he asked.

"No... But you're cute when you're frustrated and confused." Mercedes smiled at him and Sam's face lit up. He was blushing, not many guys get compliments on daily basis from girls. But there was something about her that made it special. Mercedes saw his face and thought she was embarrassing him. She decided to backtrack.

"I mean... You just... I gotta go." Mercedes practically ran down the stairs. Sam followed her all the way down and out of the building; she was at her car, fidgeting with her keys. Sam was gonna go over to talk to her but Quinn stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey Sam." she said.

"Quinn... Now is not a good time." Sam watched as Mercedes got into her car and drove away. He sighed and decided to focus on Quinn.

"Listen... You know that me and Finn are no longer together, and I was hoping that..." Sam stopped her.

"Quinn I really appreciate you helping me in my time of need, and you are beautiful... But I'm kinda over the idea of me and you ever being a couple."  
Quinn gave him a stern face and then giggled lightly.

"Sam thanks for the info- but I was hoping we did a duet together. You know like we did before?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea. The last time we did a duet we started dating then you cheated on me."

"Don't worry. This one is harmless. If you recall we won sectionals together. Why not take nationals too?" Sam saw her Never-Face-In face. He decided to acquiesce to her wishes.

"Ok...Quinn. I'll do the stupid duet with you. Alright?"

"Perfect." Quinn kissed Sam on the cheek and walked away. Sam sat on the front steps of the school, waiting for his dad to pick him up. After a while his father came around and Sam crept into the car.

"How was school today son?" his father asked.

"Confusing." Sam said. "Very... Confusing."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: it's really hard to pick song for duets when glee had basically done mostly all of the best duets of all time. So a big F U to RIB for that and an even bigger one if they break up samcedes on Tuesday. Oh and I have no idea what color Quinn's eyes are so if I got it wrong tell me. Anyway chapter 3…**

On the weekend Sam went to Quinn's house to rehearse. Their friendship still confused him at times and it wasn't just because they once dated. It was more because Sam didn't know how to act around her. Not that there were any lingering feelings between them, it was more like Sam didn't want to feel what he used to feel when he dated her. He seriously once thought he loved Quinn, and he pushed any feelings he had for her far away after she cheated and pushed them even further away after they became friends. He just wanted it to stay that way- _friends _nothing more. Sam let out a deep breath and knocked on the door and waited for Quinn to open it. As usual she was smiling wide when she saw him, in a flirty yellow and white sundress. She pulled him inside and they sat on the couch together.

"So I've been thinking about song selection. We could try something old and classic so I was thinking _Islands in the Stream_ by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers." Sam started fidgeting and looking under his nails. Quinn noticed he wasn't listening so she spoke up "... Or we could try something newer; I was thinking _Till We Aint Strangers_ Anymore by Leann Rimes and Jon Bon Jovi. What do you think?"  
She asked him. He gave her a glazed over I'm not really listening look.

"Yeah... They're both really good songs. I'll sing either." Sam replied. He looked downward at his blue chucks and tapped his foot. Quinn looked at him up and down. He wasn't meeting her gaze and it seemed his mind was in another place... "_Maybe Narnia or Pandora"_Quinn thought to herself. She never really understood Sam's nerdy side, and she would never admit this to him or out loud but it was the nerd part of him that made him even more appealing. Nevertheless Quinn could tell something was on his mind. Something other than singing a silly duet with his pretty blond ex-girlfriend.

"Is there something bothering you Sam?"

"No." Sam outright lied. "Why?"

"You seem distracted. Like your body is here but your mind is off somewhere... Are you thinking about comics or avatar or something?"  
Sam sat back and held his hair, running his fingers through the thick locks. He didn't want Quinn to feel like he was ignoring her. But he had a lot on his mind. Well not a lot- more like _one constant_ thing that he couldn't shake. He looked into Quinn's pretty green blue eyes. He couldn't believe he was seriously contemplating on telling Quinn that he's been having dreams about Mercedes. He didn't know much about their friendship other what Quinn had told him but she did mention they were really tight once. And Sam was worried that if he told Quinn, she would tell Mercedes that he was having dreams about her. Dreams where they were married and he was cheating on her. They were confusing and downright annoying at first.  
Up until last night where the dream had changed. They weren't fighting, and he wasn't sneaking around with another woman. He was actually with her. Sam picked up a chip and got lost in thinking about it.

* * *

Sam woke up in another bed. The white sheets still glowing bright. Sam sweared to everything that was holy if he seen those damn white sheets again he would hurt something. But there they were. All around him. Then there she was... _Mercedes._Sam saw her brown skin that glistened against morning sun and her nighty. He immediately knew it was her. As soon as she heard him sit up on the bed she started to stir.

"Hey... Going somewhere?" she asked him.

"I was just going to pee." Sam lied. He had seen all of this before. He watched enough TV shows or movies to know: when stuck somewhere like surreality or a so called "dream" there was always a way out. Like in _Nightmare on Elm Street_ when Freddy Krueger used to come into dreams and attack people and that strange blond girl would bring them out of it. Sam was slipping on her name... "_Damnit why do I even care_?" Sam said to himself. Sam figured he'd find his own way out while she was still sleeping. But no such luck. Instead Mercedes pulled him back down and drew him closer to her. She laid her head gently on his upper body. Sam's first thought was to fidget and try to get away, but his thoughts settled quickly. He didn't know if it was her fingers drawing light small circles around his naked chest or the intense body heat she was exhuming. Something just felt familiar about it all, like he had done this a thousand times before. _Damn-_ he thought to himself. It felt right. She moved even closer nuzzling her hair into the crook of his neck- _"her perfume"_ Sam thought. It smelled like what he assumed heaven would smell like if he'd ever get a chance to go to it. Her seemingly small hands lingered up and down his chest, practically inviting him to do the same thing to her. But he didn't want to try anything. Yes it was a dream and _whatever happens in dreamland stays in dreamland,_but Sam was still trying to deny his attraction to Mercedes. Her silky smooth legs ran up his as she smiled up at him. It was genuine and sweet, unlike anything he had seen before.

"I miss days like this..." she started. He finally met her gaze and looked into her brown cores. He never noticed how beautiful her eyes were. "... You know, lazy days where we just lay together without having anything to do." she said to him.

"Yeah, me too." Sam decided to play along. He thought that if he just kept silent she would get suspicious so he tried his best to keep the running commentary. After all what's the worst that could happen?

Mercedes moved away, untangling herself from him, for a second Sam was sad. Was it because she moved away? "I know we've been fighting a lot Sam, but it's just because I miss you. With you always on tour and me working on my third album it's hard to cope with the fact that we don't speak or see each other as much."  
Sam smiled at two things: Mercedes just said he's always on tour. Was he some kind singer? He hoped he was. And she said she missed him while he was away. So why was he cheating on her? Sam tried to wrap his head around that.

"You remember how it used to be Sam?" she looked up at him with wondering eyes.

"Uhh... Why don't you remind me" Sam gave himself an invisible pat on the back for covering his tracks nicely.

"Boy! Quit playing- like you don't remember? We were so in love once. Especially after... Well you know." Mercedes looked away and smiled at the memory. Sam turned her face back towards him and wondered what thoughts were behind that beautiful smile of hers.

"Know what?" he said with a hint of laughter.

"After... Oh gosh Sam don't make me say it! Every time I remind you, your head gets so big... Bigger than it already is."

"No... Please, remind me."

Mercedes bit down on her lip and said "After you took my virginity... Sam. All those years ago." Mercedes was a beautiful mocha skinned woman but Sam could've sworn she was blushing after she admitted that. Sam actually did feel a sense of ego and pride- he'd never been somebodies first before. He couldn't believe he actually took her virginity. Mercedes- the strong independent I don't need a man diva. He took her v card. Sam decided he was going to have to give himself two invisible pats on the back and then high-five himself... _In public._

"Wow..." Sam said. "It's like I'm learning all of this for the first time."

"Yeah... Right." Mercedes scoffed. "Like you'd ever forget... After that you couldn't keep your hands off of me. I think we had sex every single day until I left." she giggled.

"Well... Was I... Umm... Any good?" he asked shyly. Mercedes smiled at him.

"You're really going to make me do this again Sam? Inflate your ego some more?" Sam started to smile even though he was confused by what she meant by that.

"I'm not sure what you mean." he admitted.

Mercedes smiled and moved up on top of him. She straddled his upper waist and rubbed against him. Sam didn't know what to think. "Sam Evans, you are _the best_sex I have ever had, experienced and come across... So how did I do?" she asked him with a wide smile forming on her lips. Sam finally figured out what she meant and he silently admitted to himself that it felt good, and he was officially the man.

"I think you deserve an award for that one Mrs. Jones." he said to her.

"It's Evans, Sam. I'm Mercedes Evans. Remember?"

"Yeah, sorry I'm forgot for a second." he said... _"Nice one Sam."_he thought to himself.

"No worries... I'll always be right here to help you remember."

She began kissing his trouty lips with newly ignited passion. Sam was taken aback by the fluent tongue kiss as he struggled to keep up with her. He unknowingly held onto her waist as she deepened the kiss.

"Want to recreate what we did last night?" she asked him between loose kisses. Sam felt himself getting aroused. He was already at half mass when she said" Sam... You gotta tell me what you want..." she kissed his neck lightly. Sam definitely wanted whatever this was to continue but He feared if he said anything stupid she would stop rubbing her panties against his erection. So he kept quiet and let his body speak for him. Mercedes lowered her nighty so that her cleavage slightly showed. Sam brought her even closer to him; he looked into her deep brown eyes flashing with desire. She took his hands and placed them on her butt. He grabbed the cheeks, loving that he finally got his hands on her apple bottom. It caused Mercedes to moan loudly.

"Do you want me Sam?" Mercedes asked.

_"Yes, yes I do."_Sam answered.

* * *

"Sam? Sam!" Quinn yelled. Sam snapped out of it and turned to Quinn.

"Yeah? What happened?"

"You kinda blacked out there for a minute. You didn't even answer my question... Is something wrong?"

Sam sighed. He figured that none of his guy friends would _ever _understand his dreams. But Quinn- Quinn might. He just hoped to god that she didn't tell Mercedes. But, she was there for him at his lowest. Maybe she could be there for him now? "Quinn... How good are you at keeping secrets?"

* * *

No one had partners by Monday morning. With the exception of Quinn and Sam. Rachel kept insisting that she do a duet with Finn and Finn kept agreeing just for the sake of getting on Rachel's good side. Artie wanted to do one with Brittany and Santana did too. Mercedes was weighing her options. She and Kurt's voices would sound amazing together, but so would her and Artie's. Mr. Shue was thoroughly disappointed in all of them come Monday. He gave them a simple task and none of them hit the nail on the head.

"Ok since you guys couldn't pick your own partners I'm forced to pick them for you. Tomorrow you will all have assigned partners." In unison the entire glee club said _"awww" "boo!"_to him.

"Well if you would've picked your own partners I wouldn't of had to." Mr. Shue replied to them.

"Mr. Shue in all fairness, how about you give us until tomorrow?" Tina said.

"I gave you all weekend, and no one but Quinn and Sam are paired- I'm sorry Tina but I'm picking. You all get to choose your own songs but I'm picking your partners." Tina gave in and then Becky came running in. _" coach Sylvester wants to see you now!"  
_  
"I'll be right back guys" Mr. Shue leaves the room and then Rachel stands up.

"Ok we cannot let Mr. Shue dictate our partner selection. We need to pick now- before he pairs me with someone like mike. And I definitely won't get a solo at nationals. No offense mike."

_"Actually-"_ mike started to say something but Finn cut him off and stood up. "Rachel's right. Let's just pick now."  
The whole club was in agreement. Puck spoke up. "Ok then who wants to team with the puckasaurs?" the class went silent.

"I'll do it!" Brittany yelled. Santana sat back shocked. Saddened, Artie looked down.

"Ok Puck and Brittany. Who's next?" Finn asked.

"I'll do mine with other Asian. Just to make things interesting throughout all of the boring that's spreading around this room like a disease." Santana yells. Mike looks over to her and smiles.

"No offense... _Actually all offense_...I'm only here because you guys needed another member. So I'm opting out of the duets competition." zizes said.

"Fine Lauren's out- who else? Come on guys before Mr. Shue comes back!" Rachel said.

"Rachel, I think me and you should do one together." Kurt looked over to a shocked Mercedes and mouthed _"I'm sorry." _Mercedes just looked away acting like she wasn't pissed that she wasn't the first choice for her gay bestie.

"Ok. Fine I was actually thinking if not Finn, you'd be a viable _second _choice Kurt so I accept." Kurt waves her off and sits down.

"Ok that leaves Mercedes, myself, Artie and Tina." Finn says.

"I choose Artie!" Mercedes says. Artie rolls over to her and gives her hug. Sam looked at them being all chummy and he kinda got angry. _"What the hell?"_Sam thought to himself.

"Well Tina, I guess that means me and you." Finn smiles sweetly at her. Tina just shrugs and puts her head on mikes shoulder.

"Ok we got our duet couples. Now when comes back we can tell him and he can spare us, the horror." Kurt said.

Mr. Shue came in the room and picked up where he left off.

"Sorry guys, it Sue's crazy theory day. Anyway, like I was saying I will pick your duet partners-" Rachel cut him off.

"Mr. Shue there's no need. We all have our partners."

"Very funny Rachel, but you guys specifically told me none of you chose partners for this challenge."

"She's not kidding we all got partners now." Finn added.  
Mr. Shue looked around the room at all his glee kids. They either had half smiles or were giggling.

"So you all picked partners on your own in less than three minutes?" they all nodded subsequently.

"Ok Finn who's your partner?"

_"Tina."_Mr. Shue was pleasantly surprised.

"Mike?"

_"Santana."_mike said.

"Artie?"

_"Mercedes!"_Mercedes flashed him a wicked smile.

"Brittany?"

_"Puck."_

"Rachel? I'm assuming yours is Kurt?"  
Rachel shook her head yes.

"Guys I have to say I'm proud of you. I wasn't expecting the change ups you guys did. I'll accept. Nice work!"

* * *

Quinn looked over to Mercedes who was talking to Tina and Artie about song selection. Once glee was officially dismissed she got up and ran over to Mercedes at her locker.

"Hey." Quinn said,

"Hey Q, what's up?" Mercedes turned to Quinn to give her, her full attention.

"Walk me to last period?" Quinn asked her used to be friend with puppy dog eyes. Mercedes nodded yes and then they started walking together down the hallway.

"So I'm excited for nationals... Are you?" Quinn started.

"Yes I am. If me and Artie pick the right duet we will be headlining. And not Rachel _stick in the mud _Berry." Quinn laughed lightly at Mercedes' quip about Rachel.

"Well I'm rooting for you."

"I thought you were dueting with Sam? Why root for me? You guys blew sectionals out of the water."

"Speaking of Sam..." Quinn stopped in front of Mercedes. "What do you think about him?" Mercedes shrugged her shoulders. "In what way?"

"You know in general..."

"Oh my lord, Quinn Fabray!" she smacked Quinn's shoulder. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"You're thinking about getting back with Sam! Aren't you?"

"No! I'm not- Mercedes; I just wanted to know what you think about him?"

"Meh... His impressions are funny, everyone makes fun of his mouth but I think it's kinda cute and he has a nice voice I guess."

"That's all?" Quinn wondered. She wanted to know so much more. After Sam admitted that he was having dreams about Mercedes and mixed feelings, Quinn devised a little plan. She thought if Mercedes felt anything for Sam and Sam felt anything for her why not play _Quinn Fabray matchmaker extraordinaire!_ Her two friends would be perfect together. Quinn decided on Sunday night while taking off her church clothes. They are both church going Christians, and they both share a dorkdom that Quinn still didn't understand. Sam's was way nerdier than Mercedes' was but living with her Quinn found out a lot. Including the inner nerd Mercedes hides behind a beautiful weave and a sassy attitude. _"They would be great together!"_Quinn clapped her hands in delight then fell asleep watching the learning channel.

"Quinn I don't know much about Sam... So that's all I have for you... Look I gotta go to class. Call me later?" Mercedes asked. Quinn nodded and said "definitely." then Mercedes walked away.

Sam was walking past while they were talking. He began to watch them from the corner lockers. Once Mercedes left he went over to Quinn and pulled her arm.

"What were you talking to Mercedes about?" he asked. Quinn released herself from his hold and said "we are friends Sam- friends talk. It wasn't about you" Quinn lied. Sam exhaled feeling relived.

"For a minute there I thought you were talking to her about..." his sentence fell flat and Quinn decided to pick it up where he left off. "About?" she questioned.  
"My dreams!" he whispered.

"No. I didn't. But maybe you should."

"Wait what?" Sam said. Now he was more confused than ever.

"Talk to Mercedes, Sam. Tell her about the dreams you've been having. Maybe she's having the same kind of dreams, maybe they mean more then you try and ride them off as."

"Look I only told you about them because they were eating at me like a fungus. I don't need a mom or a therapist ok! _Just..._When you talk to Mercedes... Don't mention my name or my dreams, got it?" Sam felt himself getting angry. But his anger did not match the growing fire in Quinn's eyes.

"You may not think you need someone to hold your hand or talk to about this Sam, but think about it, you dated me and Santana. You could be having all types of dreams about us. Instead you're dreaming about Mercedes... Where she is your wife and she loves you yet you cheat on her! That's not strange to you? _Then fine_. Stay in your world of denial. Or, you could be _a man_and tell Mercedes that you had a sex dream about her... And you liked it!" Quinn turned on her heel abruptly and walked away before he could reply.

Sam kicked the locker repeatedly before he gave up and finally slumped down on the floor. "What the hell am I going to do now?"

* * *

_A/N: I hope you liked it. I'm really insecure about this fic so please review and tell me what you honestly think. _


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: as a Mercedes Stan (I seriously loved her since the pilot episode) I can honestly say that glee did one thing right: she got into UCLA and got a recording contract. So yeah… awesomeness for Mercedes, I was disappointed on how open ended they left Samcedes but… I guess I can wait until season 4 to get extra angry. Anyway, chapter 4…**

After school Sam was seriously contemplating on just walking to his job because his father phoned him and told him he got called into work early. So he had no truck to go to work and there's was no one around the school for miles. Sam exhaled and got up off the steps preparing to walk to work. _"Yeah... I'll get there at fucking 8o' clock."_ Sam kicked the dirt as he walked on the sides of the road.

_"I should've just gone with Finn."_ Sam said to the ground. Finn saw Sam sitting on the steps after school and politely asked him if he needed a lift Sam shrugged and said "no" thinking that his father was going to pick him up. Sam wanted to punch something as he kept on walking.

Mercedes finally got out of school after the end of the God Squad's meeting. She walked downstairs to her huge Ford Explorer and threw her bag in the back. She was so ready to go home, take a bath and read a book. _"Maybe The Hunger Games?"_ Mercedes thought to herself. She turned her key and then put on the radio. _Adele's "Rolling in the Deep"_ came bursting through the speakers and Mercedes turned it up and started to get her sing on. She had her windows rolled down as she belted the final bridge.

Sam turned his head once he heard someone singing coming up the road. The familiar voice sang Adele's song as well as Adele would herself. Mercedes stopped at the light and saw Sam looking at her through the glass.

"Mercedes?" Sam yelled.

"Sam?" Mercedes moved her car over to the side of the road so that traffic could pass her if there was any.

"Sam? What are you doing walking the roads?" Mercedes asked.

"I figure I would walk to work... Get some exercise." Sam lied. But telling her _"I'm walking to work because my dad left me in front of the school like an abandoned child on prom night"_ just didn't seem like the right thing to say. Mercedes caught on quickly to his little game, after his eyes refused to meet her gaze. Sam couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye. Not just because he had a sex dream about her, but more like he thought she would give him the _"poor baby"_ look that he hated. He didn't want anyone's pity. Especially not her.

"Do you need a lift Sam?" Mercedes asked him ever so humbly.

"No... I don't. Like I said I'm just gonna walk so you can go on..." Sam stuck his hands into his tight black jeans and looked towards the ground.

Mercedes shook her head. Apart of her knew he wasn't accepting her offer because of his own male hubris. _"Boys"_ Mercedes thought to herself. But there were no cars around for miles and she was not about to leave Sam there alone. No matter how much he didn't like it. "Get in Sam." Mercedes said. Sam said nothing in return. He just kept trying to focus on anything other than Mercedes. "Now!" she said with a more demanding tone. Sam didn't want too- I mean he really didn't. But he needed to get to work and with Mercedes driving him he could get there before his shift even starts. He went over to the passenger's side and climbed in.

"Thank you..." he said to her once he got settled in.

"You're welcome Sam." she smiled towards him and as usual he refused to look into her eyes. They rode in silence for a while and Sam kept staring at her when he thought she wasn't looking. Mercedes couldn't believe it but she was actually starting to become angry.

"Did I do something to offend you?" she asks with a hint of anger in her voice. The car came to a screeching halt at least 20 blocks away from Sam's job and Mercedes refused to move it. She crossed her arms at him waiting for an answer.

Sam looks up abruptly and immediately says "no... Of course not. Why?"

"Because every time I look at you, you look down. Is there a problem you have with me? I know y'all white folks like the whole silent anger thing but in my family if you got a problem with someone you address it."

Sam was unsure of what to say at that moment. He refused to tell her _"I can't look at you because I'm having dreams about you and I and it's confusing and exciting at the same time."_ No matter what Quinn yelled to him, he couldn't or wouldn't say that but he couldn't sit there silent either. A moment passed while he tried to find the right to say.

Finally he settled on "I'm just exhausted. With my job and school and being homeless... everything. It's gets to me sometimes. Sorry." Mercedes felt like such a douche for actually believing that Sam could have a problem with her.

She started the car once again and began going back down the road. After sometime Mercedes finally mustered up enough courage to say something. "Sorry I flipped out on you Sam, I would blame it on lady hormones but you'll probably see right through that."

"Actually I wouldn't. I'm not that smart." she laughed at him and he blushed. Sam never noticed how beautiful her laugh was before. It was sweet and gentle, _"just like in my dreams"_ Sam thought out loud.

"What?" Mercedes asked giving him a confused look. _"What the hell did he just say?"_

"What?" Sam repeated trying to cover his tracks.

"You said something... About dreams?" she told him as the car came to a simple stop in front of Sam's work place.

"Nope I don't think I did..." Sam tried to cover his tracks, Mercedes just shrugged.

Sam unbuckled himself from his seat then looked at his watch. He made it to work with at least 25 minutes to spare. "Nice driving Miss Jones." he said to her. For a moment he forgot he was avoiding her gaze and he finally looked right into her eyes. She was no longer smiling but her eyes seemed like they were. Her eyelashes flickered up and down, as she looked back at him. "Thank you Sam. " she said. She put her hand on his shoulder and took out a pen and paper. She wrote something on the top of it then ripped it off and handed it to Sam. "that's my number." he gave her a look waiting for her to make sense. "Sam I know we're not particularly friends or even acquaintances, and whatever happens to your family is between you and god but, I figured if you ever needed somebody to talk to... Or just to take you places you can ask me. I'm not saying I'll be your chauffer or maid or whatever I'm just saying I can be a helping hand if you ever needed one."

He looked into her eyes and searched for any sign of pity or that "poor little charity case" looks people usually gives him and his family. Fortunately the only thing he found in her eyes was sincerity and humility. Again he looked at the note and gave her a crooked side smile. "Thanks Mercedes I appreciate It." he said

"No problem. And don't lose that, cause if you do I definitely won't be giving my number to you again." her hand slided off of his shoulder gently and Sam felt himself release a breath he didn't know that he was holding in.

"Well I should go, before I get written up for being late. Thanks again." he hopped out of the car and started walking towards his job. Mercedes watched him walk away then drove off. Sam sat on the bench and took out the phone number that was burning a hole in his back pocket. He took out his phone entered her number. He sat there trying to figure out what to put her under.

_"Mercedes?"_ Sam thought. _"No that's too plain."_ Sam had everyone who was in the Glee Club under a funny name in his phone. Yeah it was kinda lame but it made Sam laugh every time they called or texted him. Finn was under "Frankenteen", Quinn was "Blondie" because that's what they called each other while they were dating and it kinda just stuck, Santana was under "Tits Magee" Sam had to admit that the greatest thing about Santana besides her beautiful singing voice was her nice plastic chest. She had a terrible attitude and was kinda a bitch but at least she had those two things going for her.

Even puck had one. Sam had it under "PuckiNator" just because it made him laugh but puck found out and changed it to "sex shark" Sam didn't care even if it was weird.

_"Santana calls her wheezy... And Aretha."_ Sam took those thoughts out of his mind. If Mercedes found out she were in his phone under wheezy she would never speak to him again. And after today Sam was sure that wasn't an option. A light bulb went off in Sam's head, he finally figured out what he was going to save it as. He entered it and it read: _future wife._ Sam shut his phone off and put it in his back pocket. As he walked into work he had no idea that he was smiling.

* * *

Sam got home late in the night and like always everyone was sleeping. He took a shower, brushed his teeth and prayed. He laid down on the couch looking up towards the ceiling thinking about his day. Sam tried his best to only focus on the good things that happened.

_"Glee club was fun."_ Sam thought.

_"Mercedes looked pretty today."_

_"Is it bad that I want Artie to stay far away from Mercedes? Why does she want to duet with him so bad anyway?"_

_"Mercedes gave me her number... I got her number!"_

_"Her car is so sweet... Just like her."_ Sam interrupted his own thoughts and sat up. Every single good thing that happened to him today somehow involved Mercedes. It was like she was taking over every thought he had. What was even weirder was that Sam liked it. He closed his eyes and flopped back down.

* * *

"Sam! Sam don't you fall asleep on me!" Sam woke up in another dream. This time it seems like he was on the phone with someone.

"Samuel Evans I swear to god if you're sleeping I'm never calling you again." the voice said.

"I'm... I'm here." he said back. It was a woman on the phone but it wasn't Mercedes. Sam knew her voice and it sounded nothing like hers.

"Good." she said. "I was worried that you had fallen asleep on me baby."

Oh god- Sam thought. He looked at the iPhone that was attached to his face and read the name it read "Emma".

Yep Sam was having yet another cheating dream. At least this time she wasn't naked in his bedroom. _"thank baby jesus for small favors" _he thought.

"Babe... Are you there?" she asked.

"Yes. I am." Sam says back.

"So tell me is your wife home?"

Sam looked around the room and saw no sign of anyone.

"No... I guess she's not." Sam sighed. He was actually looking forward to a Mercedes dream, instead he got this bullshit.

"That's great news because guess what?"

"What?" Sam said dryly.

"I'm not wearing anything right now... And I'm touching myself thinking about you." Sam should've been turned on by her smoky voice and her sexy comments but his thing was particularly soft and showed no sign of life anytime soon.

"Can I call you back later? I'm really tired." Sam hung up before she could answer. He got off the bed and curiosity got the best of him as he started to look around the room. He went over to the dresser and opened it. The first draw was nightshirts and PJ's, simple bedroom wear. The second dresser was full of bra and panty sets. Sam raided them. It was a beautiful range of leather and lace. Obviously his wife had spectacular taste and Sam wondered if he was ever going to have a dream where he sampled the rainbow one that smelled like cotton candy at a county fair. He closed the draws and then began to look at pictures.

There were pictures of him and Mercedes everywhere. One of them two at what seemed like an award show. "_The Grammy's_" Sam said out loud_. "I was at the freaking Grammy's!"_

There was another of them with Rachel and Finn at some event. Finn had facial hair and Rachel got highlights. There was another with all of New Directions. It said _"happy 5th year reunion_" everyone was smiling. Quinn had a huge ring on her finger, puck looked weary. Brittany and Santana looked like they were very happy, Tina was pregnant and Mercedes was sitting in Sam's lap as he smiled wide. Sam smiled at the fact that new directions still got together. Even if it was for a stupid reunion. All the other pics were of them in cars or hugged up in a Christmas photo. But one caught Sam's eye. It was a picture of them two at a park kissing. What surprised him is that they looked young- like teenagers. Sam had his long hair and he was holding Mercedes close as they kissed. It was obvious someone else was taking the picture. Sam took the glass frame from the dresser and stared at the pic for a while. Suddenly a thought came into his mind. Something Mercedes said to him in his very first dream he had about her _"you fell in love with me Sam."_** shit**... Sam thought. _"I fall in love with Mercedes."_ he said it like it was finally sinking in. Sam gets out of his head when he hears a click of a lock at the door. Mercedes walks up the stairs and opens it. Sam looks up at her smiling, picture still in his hand.

"I see you're here." Mercedes said in a nasty tone.

Sam wondered why she was being so rude to him. "What?" he asked

"Nothing… Can you please leave! I need to get ready for bed." Mercedes didn't have one happy look on her face.

"I thought we were married..." he fished.

"We are." she said

"Then why can't I see you undress? It's not like it's anything I haven't seen before."

"You nasty pervert. You and me just had a two hour-long phone-text fight and now you want to see me naked? Like I told you over the phone you're never seeing these goodies again!" Mercedes yelled.

"What did I do now?" Sam said fully exasperated.

"Really Sam? If domestic abuse wasn't a crime I'd punch you right now." Mercedes went into the bathroom and slammed the door. Sam went to the bed and picked up his phone. Mercedes said they were arguing over text maybe he could find something there. He had 4 missed calls from that Emma woman and ignored them all. He went to his texts and looked at the ones under _"wife."_

* * *

**Sam:** I can't believe you are really planning on staying in Canada on our anniversary. You can cancel those dates Mercedes this is about us.

**Wife:** no this is about _YOU_ and your selfish ways. I need to promote my new album Sam. I can't promote it if I don't do what the studio tells me! You used to understand this, but _NO_ when you got your record deal and everything was Sam Evans 24/7 and did I bitch and moan like you do? No I freaking supported you even when that Emma bitch kept saying it wasn't good enough! Ugh I swear-

**Sam:** _Emma..._ Was only trying to push me to becoming better which I did. She believes in me. Like you used to. I wish you were more like her._ Sam smacked himself on the head he couldn't believe he texted that to her._

**Wife**: are you fucking serious? All I do is support you. You like Emma so damn much maybe she should be your wife then. Lord knows how you like em' : blonde, skinny and dumber than a box of nails.

**Sam:** I'm so tired of your shit mercy. Seriously, I'm done. I'm the dude in this marriage and I'm trying to make days for us to be together. But if I'm not a priority in "Mercedes' world" anymore please tell me... I'll be out of your life.

**Wife:** whatever Sam. Are you sure you're just a singer? Because I believe you were born for the stage. In fact I forgot is your middle name dramatic?

**Sam:** pick up your phone... This isn't getting anywhere through text.

**Wife:** No. And No.

**Sam:** you drive me crazy...

After that last text message Mercedes never replied back. Sam threw his phone. They were fighting over small stuff. He had seen it before when his mom and dad would fight over the littlest things like mail. But they would always work it out in the end. Sam sat there and looked at the picture of them again. They looked so happy. Sam was happy with her, he had to be happy once if he asked her to marry him and she said yes. They were happy, so why cheat? Mindless bickering couldn't be the only problem... Was it? What happened that Sam went over and cheated with this Emma woman? "I need to know." Sam said to himself. Mercedes came out of the bathroom in nothing but a black lace bra and panties. Completely ignoring how he watched her body, She climbed in the bed, put the covers over herself and slipped on her sleep mask.

Sam smiled at her obvious annoyance with him. Future Sam may not like it but present Sam would lie if he said he wasn't turned on by the way she was ignoring him. He got under the same covers and moved close to her.

"If this is some kind of four play... I'm totally into it." he whispered in her ear.

"It isn't. Now move far away from me cause the only thing you'll be playing with tonight is yourself." she turned over to her side and turned off the lights. Sam ignored her request and rubbed his cock against her butt. Mercedes unknowingly moved against him, liking it, but only for a second. She removed herself from the bed and began to walk out. "Where are you going?" he asked

"Guest room. And the door will be locked so you can't try and make me not hate you."

"Look, it was a silly fight..." he tapped the bed and licked his lips at the sight of her holding onto her hips. "Come back over here and let's work our frustrations out... The adult way."

"Sam we haven't had sex in a 8 months. And the tension your feeling between us, isn't sexual. It's just plain tension. Now goodnight." Mercedes walked out and slammed the door.

Sam flopped down on the bed and looked at his sad erection. _"Poor general."_ he said to it.

There was so much going on Sam didn't know how to digest it. His iPhone buzzed it was a text from **Emma:** I miss you... It read.

"Oh god." Sam once again threw his phone down. And he closed his eyes.

* * *

He woke up in the motel at 2:30 in the morning. His phone was buzzing repeatedly. It was a text from Quinn.

The subject line said: **DO NOT READ UNTIL MORNING**. Sam ignored it and opened it anyway.

It read; **Blondie:** _Have any good dreams lately? ;)._


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Lol to the people who pointed out I used the name "Emma". I very quietly ship Rileystreet (don't tell anyone... jk) oh and I know I keep hinting at artcedes and Sam hating Artie but its just cause Sam cant handle the awesomeness that artcedes would've been if RIB weren't fools and I didn't love Samcedes so much. But I digress… chapter 5.**

Sam was desperately trying to focus in history class. But it was hard to when all he could think about was Mercedes. History class was the last period before lunch and it was the only class him and Mercedes shared together. He never really noticed this until recently. Once those damn dreams started Sam's life chart started to look something like Mercedes 80% everything else: 20. He couldn't get her off of his mind. At first he wanted nothing more than to not think about her, but the more he tried the more he saw her. Once he stopped fighting it, Sam realized that thinking about Mercedes wasn't bad as long as she never knew. What harm could his subconscious do?

So Sam was actually thanking the baby Jesus that he sat across from Mercedes and not in front of her. This way he could look and admire her all he wanted and since Mercedes only looked at the board and not at anything else, Sam eyes could look at her anyway he pleased.

"So I will be pairing you guys into groups of three..." the teacher started to say. But Sam wasn't really listening. He was looking at Mercedes and fantasizing about the present her in that black lace bra she had on in his dream.

"Mercedes Jones, Sam Evans, Whitney Claymore..." Mercedes looked over to Sam once she heard their names being called together. She noticed he was already looking at her, she gave him a beyond confused expression and Sam quickly opened his textbook pretending to read whatever page he just flipped onto. Mercedes shook her head. _"Was he just staring at me?" _she thought to herself.

"Ok get up and go to the tables I assigned you, in your groups."

Mercedes went over to the large green table and sat. Whitney Claymore started to saunter over to the table. She sat down, flipped her curly waves and gave Mercedes the fakest smiles she had ever seen.

_"Skinny bitch."_ Mercedes said to herself. She knew Whitney. She was a rude, abrasive; know it all red headed senior, who couldn't make it on the cheerleading squad. So instead she threw parties at her house almost every week and became know as "_anal girl"_ and not in the good: she's just a really clean perfectionist kind of term. It was the dirty; gritty she gives her ass to anyone who wants it kind. Anal girl was her silent name and what was worse was that she didn't care. Mercedes thought peoples choices to have sex before marriage were there own, but to think so lowly of yourself like she did, didn't fly in Mercedes mind.

_"Trash."_ she kept repeating in her head over and over. "_Just trash."_

Sam finally made his way to the table after the teacher nudged him in that direction. Whitney watched him walk towards them and bit her lip seductively. Sam metaphorically shook his head, Whitney was pretty but he heard what she was about and he had his fill of that with Santana. Instead he watched Mercedes look into her book and flip the pages. _"She never looks at me..."_ Sam thought. _"I wonder if she thinks I'm even remotely attractive?"_

Sam sat down and said hi to Whitney and Mercedes.

"Sam.. That's your name right?" Whitney asked.

"Yeah... It is." Sam said plainly. He looked at Mercedes, she was writing down her notes into the pad, completely ignoring their convo. Sam thought that maybe if he initiated conversation she would have to talk to him. "Hey Mercedes..." Sam said

Mercedes looked up and smiled. "Hey Sam." she looked back down and continued to write.

Sam felt himself getting irritated. Her smile was gorgeous just a second ago and now it's... _Gone._ Sam decided to try again. "Hey, aren't we all supposed to be doing that together?" he playfully took the paper from under Mercedes' pen. Forcing her to look him in the eye.

"Can I have my paper back please?" she asked him with a hint of anger in her voice.

"I'm just trying to see what you're writing... After all we're partners. Right Whitney?" he looked over to Whitney who was giving him the please Fuck me gaze.

"Yeah Mercedes... Stop being such a wet mop." Whitney said to her not taking her eyes off of Sam. She moved her chair closer to him and Sam had to scoot further down.

"Excuse you?" Mercedes said to her.

Whitney's eyes finally left Sam's body long enough to look Mercedes right in the face. "I said Stop. Being. So. Damn. Boring... It's just a paper." Sam looked at Mercedes expression. She looked like she wanted to kill Whitney and him.

"If I don't want to give either of you slackers my notes, that means I'm boring?"

"No you're boring because you never do anything. I swear all I ever see you do is eat. When's the last time you ever did anything fun?" Whitney rolled her eyes and laughed lightly at Mercedes. She looked to Sam to see if he agreed and his face was in shock. He looked at Mercedes' eyes. They looked swollen like she was the verge of tears and anger.

_"This is all my fault."_ Sam said to himself followed by words like _"dumbass" "shitdick" and idiot._

* * *

The bell rung and Mercedes quickly got her things and left. Sam still held her paper in his hand, he got up to find her but Whitney stopped his tracks.

"Hey sexy lips..." she said

"Whitney? What do you need?"

"I'm having a super awesome party this Saturday... And you're invited." her finger traced up his shirt and stopped at his collar. She pulled him close to whisper in his ear. "I can't wait to see you there." she floated away.

_"Yeah... In you're dreams easy bake"_ Sam said to himself

Sam walked down the hallway and saw Quinn. She gave him a small smile as she walked towards him.

"Quinn hey..." he began.

"Did you get my text? You never replied back." her smile broadened as she waited for his answer.

"Have you seen Mercedes?" he asked ignoring her question.

"Yeah... She ran down the steps. I asked her if she was ok but she just kept going."

"Thanks Quinn." Sam ran off to find Mercedes. He looked all over the place and couldn't find her anywhere. He finally reached the parking lot to look through the cars. Once he got to row E that's when he saw her. She was in her car. Both hands on the steering wheel staring blankly into the open. Sam exhaled preparing himself for his apology. _"Look Mercedes I'm sorry, Whitney's a bitch, don't sweat it... Oh god you sound so stupid Sam." _Sam shut up his conscience and began to walk over to her.

He knocked on the car door and Mercedes looked up startled by his presence. She rolled down her window and asked "what do you want Sam?" then she looked down towards the steering wheel avoiding his gaze.

"Can we talk?" Mercedes shrugged and opened her car and let him in.

"I'm sorry about what Whitney had to say. I'm sorry that I actually initiated it."

"Anal girl doesn't get to me." Mercedes lied. In fact she felt tears forming in her eyes as soon as she had left the classroom. But once she got to her car the tears dried and all she felt was anger. In the back of her mind she could hear her mom say _"Mercedes... Never waste your tears on someone who isn't worth it."_

"Mercedes... I saw you, you were almost in tears." Sam said to her. He hated that she put up these walls around her. The bricks were so high you couldn't see the princess stuck inside waiting to get out.

"What's it to you anyway? You don't know me." she spat.

"You told me the other day that you would be there for me if I needed you. So why can't I be there for you?"

Mercedes turned towards him and looked him in the eye. "Look... I don't mean to be rude. I guess what I'm trying to say is... I can take care of myself. But thank you for apologizing, and thanks for trying to be there for a girl like me."

Sam was taken aback by her words.

"A girl like you... As in what exactly?"

"As in someone who isn't a friend or someone you're definitely not interested in. You know... A girl like me. Invisible to the male species."

_"Invisible?"_ Sam thought to himself. _"If only she knew I spent 45 minutes of class today trying to undress her in my mind."_

"Mercedes... You're not invisible. I took you to prom. We danced. If you were invisible that would've been... _Illogical."_ Sam gave her his best Mr. Spock impression. He watched her face light up as she giggled and slapped his shoulder.

"You're impressions are so silly Sam. You should be a comedian."

Sam had no idea that a boy could blush as much as he did when he was around her. _"One more compliment and I swear I'll put a ring on it right now."_ Sam thought.

"Thanks." he smiled at her then looked at his watch. They missed most of fifth period.

"Well... I think it's time we go. Glee club starts soon." Sam says to her.

"Yeah. We should, look thanks for trying to talk to me. I'm so used to being in my head all the time, so I'm sorry if you couldn't get through to me."

"Well that depends... How do you feel now?"

"I'm okay, I try not sweat the small stuff. Something I learned from my mama."

"Well then I guess job well done doctor Evans." he patted himself on the back and she laughed for the second time.

"Does it hurt your head being that dorky?" she toyed.

Sam's face made a laughable O once he heard her call him a dork.

"Nothing wrong with being dorky. I mean... In my head everyone should be more like me."

He jokingly dusted off his shoulders. Mercedes looked at him in such revere. "You're right..." she said. "I wished everyone was like you." another compliment gave came out of her mouth and Sam was now officially jelly. _"Seriously... I could fall right now."_ he thought. She was already looking back at him with the same wordless expression. The way she looked at him made Sam want to kiss her pouty lips with no regrets, until she agreed to marry him and had his coffee colored babies

Their deepened gaze dropped once Mercedes said, "we really should get going." Sam agreed and they hopped out of the car.

They walked back into the school and Sam decided to stop her before they got to the choir room.

"Hey... I still have your notes on our history assignment." he said.

"Oh... You can borrow them if you need to."

"Weren't we supposed to be working on it together? I'm not going to cheat off of you. It's a three person project."

"Yeah you're right, but doubt miss anal is going to help much though."

"Fine, forget about Whitney... How about we do it... Just me and you?"

Mercedes smiled at his open invitation.

"Ok sure." she said; Sam smiled. He finally had excuse to use the phone number she gave him.

"So... I'll call you tonight. We can bang this thing out together?"

_"WTF?"_ Mercedes thought. _"Did he really just use that lame ass sexual innuendo towards her?"_

_"You're an idiot, you're an idiot, and you're a dumbass idiot."_ Sam thought to himself

"Sure can you call me around 8 though? After school I'm going to Artie's to practice our duet."

_"Fucking Artie"_ Sam thought. But instead of going into full on hulk mode and punching hole into the wall Sam just smiled and said "definitely."

* * *

Sam got home from work at 9:30. He didn't even have a chance to call Mercedes because the shop was so busy today. He sat down on his lousy couch and contemplated on calling her or texting her or being an elusive dumbass and not doing either. Finally after 10 minutes he settled on a text.

_**"I'm sorry I didn't call you... I just got off of work."**_ he reluctantly hit send and then laid back fully prepared for the "don't. Ever. Speak to me." text. Five minutes passed and Sam's phone buzzes. He exhaled and read it.

_**"It's ok."**_ is all it read. Sam was used to getting one-word texts, Quinn used to text him K every time she didn't want to be bothered. But there was something about the two lonely words that just hit him raw.

_**"I promise I'll call tomorrow."**_ Sam wrote. A little while later Sam got a text back.

_**"Ok."**_ from two words to one. It was getting worse_. "Yeah... She wants nothing to do with you."_ Sam thought. He put his phone on the charger, did some homework and then fell asleep watching old Spiderman cartoons.

* * *

Sam woke up in a tent. He knew it was a tent because he recognized it. It was the one him and his father built by hand. It meant everything to him, because it resembled a better time in his family. He unzipped the tent and started to walk up the trail that was left_. "These dreams just keep getting weirder and weirder."_ Sam said to the darkness. He finally stumbled upon a cottage; he walked inside and rang the small bell at the front desk.

"Alright! Alright already I'm coming!" the voice yelled. She came out of the back and saw him. She straightens up quickly and said "Mr. Evans... How can I help you?"

Sam noticed a change in her demeanor after she saw him. She called him by his formal name and smiled like she could cure cancer. Sam looked up at the moniker and it said _"Evans Inn." _Sam smiled. The future him was more and more of an exciting mystery.

"I was hoping you could tell me if I have a room here?"

"Of course you do. The whole presidential suite. Like always."

"Sweet... Can I get a key? I must've lost mine." the girl went to the key lock and handed it to him. She waved to him as he went up the stairs.

Sam entered the key and then came in. He looked around and decided that this is where he wanted to die. For an inn the decor was amazing. It was modern and chic. _"I must've had designers do this"_ he said to himself.

Sam walked into the bedroom. The bed in question was decorated with red rose petals and there was champagne chilling on ice next to it. _"I'm a hopeless romantic... Who knew."_ Sam said to himself. Then he heard the shower. It was running even before he came in but it just came to a stop. Whoever was in there was about to come out.

Sam sat down on the chair next to the door, preparing for whatever came out of the bathroom.

Mercedes came out of the bathroom in a blue silk robe. _"My favorite color."_ Sam thought licking his lips. He was thinking about just watching her get dressed but fought against it, because he wanted to keep his teeth. He cleared his throat so that she knew that he was in the room. Mercedes jumped at the sound he made. She turned around and looked at him in anger.

"What are you doing here?" She huffed.

"What do you mean..." _oh god more fighting_ Sam thought.

"What happened to... I'm going to sleep outside and don't you dare follow me Mercedes!" she mimicked him.

He laughed at her great impression of him.

"So now I'm funny to you?" Mercedes crossed her arms in front of her and she gave him an I hate you look.

"No... I was just laughing at your impression. It was really good." he got up off the chair and stalked towards her with feral eyes. He stood in front of her looking not only into her eyes, but her heart.

"Whatever I said before... I'm sorry."

He grabbed her waist towards him, practically daring her to push him away. But she didn't.

"You're sorry for saying that I don't mean anything to you?" Sam's eyes got wider. _Did I really say that shit?_ He thought.

"Yes." he said

"You sorry for saying that you rather spend the night in your father's tent then with me?"

"Yes." she wrapped her arms around his neck softly and pushed her head towards his. They had no idea that they began to sway together. _"I could get used to this..."_ he said to himself

"Sam..." she whispered after a while.

"Yeah?" they stopped swaying together and she looked him right in the eye.

"I don't want to fight anymore." her eyes glistened under the dim lights in the room. Sam swore that he could see into her soul through her brown cores. She laid her head against his chest and held him tight.

"I don't... I don't know what to say." Sam said.

"I know you're still angry. But I promise you I have never and will never love Puck the way I love you."

"Yeah... Wait what?" Sam pulled her out of his arms and so she could look him in the eye.

"Puck? What does puck have to do with us?"

"Sam.. Don't pretend like you don't remember almost killing Noah after you found out we dated in junior college."

"You dated puck?" _what in hell? This just keeps getting worse and worse._

Mercedes moved closer to him to close the gap that Sam was now forming between them. She hugged onto his waist and said "I know you're trying to block it out of your mind... So am I. But you need to get over it; it was years before we got back together. Besides you got back with Quinn, and I didn't care."

Sam was trying to figure out a way to digest all the new information he was getting. Mercedes dated puck in college which means somehow they break up, he gets back together with Quinn in the near future only to break up with her again and then ultimately gets married to Mercedes.

_"How the hell does this all happen?"_ Sam got lost in thought and Mercedes took it the wrong way. She saw his glazed over face and figured she had made him angry once again. So she started to cry into his chest.

"Mercedes why are you crying?" Sam left his daze once he heard her sobs.

"Because everything is ruined. This whole day is ruined because of me!" she sobbed harder.

At that moment Sam didn't know what to do. He had an almost naked Mercedes crying into his chest making his shirt wet and all he did was stand there. She gripped his shirt tighter as the tears became heavy. _"Man up and do something!" _Sam said to himself.

He picked up her chin so that they were face to face and before he knew what he was doing, he crushed his lips to hers in a wild kiss. Mercedes sobs turned into moans as his tongued entered the game.

_"Sam what are you doing... Pull away! This is Mercedes... Her mouth tastes... Awesome."_

Wordlessly Sam ushered her to the wall. Their kiss deepened as he went for her robe. _"Sam will power... Stop now!"_ but Sam wasn't listening to his inner voice any longer. All thoughts of how stupid he was being for indicting a kiss with his future wife were gone. The robe slid off of her and cascaded down to the floor. Mercedes had nothing to hide from him now. Sam broke the kiss to look at her body and was amazed at how beautiful she looked out of clothes.

"Like a Nubian Queen..." Sam said out loud.

"Thank you Mr. Evans." she said with a smile and a swing of her hips. It was weird how comfortable she was naked. She was smiling and didn't have a care in the world. Sam liked the confident Mercedes. And the little general seemed to like it too because it kept getting harder and twitching in his pants as he looked at her.

"The move is yours Sam... We could fight about the past some more... Or we could celebrate the day I became yours. _Forever_."

Sam's mind was screaming _yes... No... Yes... No_. But his body wanted her bad. He put his hands around her waist and ultimately made his choice.

"I love you Sam." Mercedes said.

"I love you Mercedes." he said back before they reached the bed.

* * *

And back in a cheap motel room as he slept comfortably Sam uttered; _"Mercedes... I love you."_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know that this is all over the place, but I had to add this in so it could flow better. Plus nationals are coming up soon and Samcedes were dating by then. (Yeah screw you rib.) So if it doesn't make sense or it sounds rushed honestly tell me. **

Sam got his lunch from the cafe and then he went over to the table where his Glee friends sat. Usually all of them were scattered hugging up on their significant others, but oddly none of the girls were there. Sam plopped down next to Puck and entered a very silly conversation.

"You got to be kidding me! Really Finn? You're nothing but a liar!" Puck spat to him across the table.

"Just because I'm not a man whore like you doesn't make me a liar, Puck." Finn crossed his arms in front of him defensively, trying to ignore Puck's rudeness.

"Finn is definitely lying. I can see it on his face." Artie included.

"And what would he be lying about exactly?" Sam interjected stuffing his face with a mouth full of Doritos.

"Us glee studs were talking about the glee girls... You know who we would go out with if we didn't have girlfriends."  
Sam shook his head. Having lunch with just the Glee guys was fun sometimes... Other times, he seriously missed the logical nature of the Glee girls.

"But Finn doesn't have a girlfriend." Sam said to Puck.

"Exactly. Which is why we're calling bullshit on his 'I only have eyes for one glee girl and that's Rachel." Puck imitated Finn.

"And you all have weighed in on this?" said Sam.

They all nodded their heads. "Wow... Even you mike?"

"I'm in love with a beautiful girl, but hey I'm a guy. We have eyes. It's harmless... Besides were only talking about the others girls in glee club." mike added.

"So Finn stop lying and tell us! Just the top two glee girls you would like to do things with if you had the chance." Puck said getting back on topic.

"Ok... Rachel and... Quinn. Happy?" the boys all laughed.

"Finn you officially suck." Puck said.

"Ok puck what about you. And don't pick Lauren. You're already dating her." Artie said.

"That's easy. Since I've already had my fill of half that glee club... Including Rachel, Finn." Puck sent a smile over Finn's way. Finn fought back a jaw clench and remained cool.

"I'd go with Tina and Mercedes." they all looked over to puck with shocked eyes. Puck stood his ground with no shame in his game. Sam felt his face getting hot, and his palms sweaty. Puck just said that he would put the moves on Mercedes. And since Sam found out that he indeed does put he moves on her in the future it made him feel uneasy. _"Not my woman"_Sam says to himself

"I second that brotha!" Artie raised his hand to Puck and Puck took the bait and slapped it hard.

Mike shrugged in agreement. "I was actually going to say Santana or Mercedes." he smiled. _"WTF?"_ Sam thought. _"Since when did they all think Mercedes was so hot?"_

"Santana is pure sex..." Artie began. "And Mercedes... I just know I'm going to end up marrying that woman. I mean have you see her globes? And that bottom? Perfection personified." Artie put his hand up in mock praise. Sam looked over to him with a death stare.

"Amen! Amen! What's that line by the rapper whose name I can't recall? _"She got an ass that'll swallow up a G-string."_Puck smiled at his own comment.

Sam officially had enough of the conversation. They were objectifying Mercedes like she was just some random slutty girl off of the street with a nice ass. And he was too through with Artie's comment way more than Puck's. Before he knew what he was saying he asked Artie, "what makes you so sure?"

"What are you talking about?" Artie's smile left as he noticed Sam's demeanor change.

"What makes you so sure that Mercedes is going to marry you of all people?" every guy at the table now was looking at Sam and Artie.

"Well I was just joking. But come on. If it were up to Mercedes... She'd marry me in a heartbeat. She loves me." Artie laughed him off.

"Hold on Artie..." Finn put his hand to Artie's shoulder and looked right into Sam's eyes.

"Sam... You're the only one at the table who hasn't answered the question. Who would you go out with?"

Sam started tapping his foot nervously. His mind was saying _"Mercedes, Mercedes, and more Mercedes."_but instead he gave an answer that wouldn't cause any commotion and it would help him keep his cool status. "Duh... Quinn and Santana." he scoffed at Finn giving him the you should've already known the answer glaze.

"No way dude! You went out with both of them already. Pick two others." Puck said.

"Finn went out with both Rachel and Quinn. How come he doesn't have to pick two others?"

Finn stared over to Sam and looked him in the eye. Sam looked down, avoiding his gaze. Sam's whole mood changed from calm and collected to cold and frigid in seconds. _It seemed like he was hiding something._Finn thought.

"You know what guys? Let's drop this." Finn said. Eventually they all agreed and picked up their plates and threw them away.

Sam got up after them and threw his plate away too. As he turned around he saw Finn right in front of him.

"Hey dude..." Finn says

"Hey." Sam said before walking off, Finn was in tow right behind him.

"Sam are you ok man? I kinda noticed you at the table and it seemed like you were angry and sad."

"Yeah. I'm fine. I do think that you guys shouldn't objectify the girls like that. I mean just to assume things like Mercedes would ever marry Artie or Puck would ever have a chance with Tina..." his voice trailed off.

"I agree it was silly. But it's all talk. I mean Mike and Tina are like an unsinkable ship so Puck's Tina fantasies are way off. But I do think Artie and Mercedes would be good together."

_"No they wouldn't!"_ Sam's mind screamed. _"They wouldn't be good together! Because she's mine!"_Sam ignored his inner voice and instead he said "whatever. I gotta get to class."

* * *

It was glee club time and Sam got there early as usual. Mercedes was there first and she was just looking down at her shoes with her headphones on and an iPod in her hand. He smiled watching her and then made his way to the seat next to her. She noticed him and waved at him.

"Hey Mercedes." Sam said to her wave.  
Mercedes watched his lips move and realized he must've been talking to her. She took her headphones out of her ears and said "I'm sorry... Did you say something Sam?"

"I didn't mean to bother you... I just said hi that's all."  
She slapped his shoulder playfully. "Sam you weren't bothering me. I was just listening to some Whitney."

"Whitney... As in Houston right?"

"No Whitney as in Whitney powers." Mercedes tried her hand at sarcasm

"Who?" Sam asked not getting the joke.

"Really?" she said with a dead panned on her face. "Boy, never mind."  
She put her iPod back into her bag and they sat there in silence for a minute.  
Sam decided he should say something about last night. Just in case she was pissed still and to break the growing uncomfortable silence.

"Hey, sorry for not calling you last night... I got caught up at work."  
Mercedes turned to him welcoming the break of silence.

"Like I said Sam, it's ok. It's not like I was sitting next to my droid with a tub of chunky monkey waiting for your phone call." she laughed lightly.

"It's just I know how girls are when you don't call, they get pissed and think your lying when you say you were working."

"Then maybe you should change the girls you call and text. Cause that's just plain silly."  
Sam smiled. _"This girl is so cool. No wonder why I marry her."_he thought.

"But the project really does need to get done." Mercedes said after he didn't respond.

"Yeah... I don't work tonight so I'll call you later, you can help me understand what the hell is the difference between the S.S and the S.A in Nazi Germany." he laughed.

"I have a better idea. The library downtown stays open late. Why don't you meet me there after school and I can tell you the difference then?" She smiled up at him. Sam could swear to God, Allah, Jehovah, and grilled cheesus that underneath her smile was the hint of flirtation but then again he could just be making it up in his mind.

"I would love too but..." Sam began. He noticed her smile fade and it saddened him. "My father is taking the truck for work tonight. I was going to hitch a ride home with Finn."

Her eyes were now bouncing inquisitively. This meant two things in Sam's mind. The first logical one was: she had an idea. The second one which he didn't even know why he was thinking it was: she uses drugs every once in a while. _"Silly." _Sam thought to himself.

"If you want I have an idea..." _the first one! _Sam said to himself

"I'm all ears... And hands... and feet." he held out his hands and feet to show her that he was serious. Mercedes laughed quickly before continuing her original thought.

"Only if you want to... I can take you home. After the library... I mean." she looked down biting the insides of her lip.

"Sure... I mean yes." he said. Mercedes didn't know why but she clapped in joy and hugged him. His arms invited her in like they were old friends. He took in her scent that was permeating off of her clothes and almost got lost. _"Oatmeal and honey... Vanilla and spice..." _Sam closed his eyes and remembered she smelled the same way in his dreams, so good it had to be fatting."

"Just like my dreams..." Sam said.  
Mercedes pulled back and said "what?"  
_Shit. Not again. Stupid word vomit._

"Nothing." Sam said with a crooked half smile.

"Alright... If you say so... Meet you afterschool around 3:30?" she asked

"yep..." he said smiling.

Sam made his way down the stairs into the parking lot. He was about to spend time with Mercedes. The girl he has been dreaming about for weeks. This time there would be no glee club, or history class or Artie's or Whitney's to get in his way. He could talk to her. Get to know her better. Mercedes was waiting there by her car for him. Once she spotted him she waved and he tried to fight the small smile that was forming on his face.

"Hey Sam. Ready to go?" she asked once he made it to her.

"Yep. Library here we come."

* * *

Once they got to the library they found a table by the corner. It was kinda secluded and that made Sam extra happy. He wanted her all to himself. It was easy getting settled in. Mercedes had her notes and a poster board and all the fixings. She spread everything out on the table and immediately they dove in.

"Really... Wow I guess Hitler was worse than I originally thought." Sam said. He was totally exasperated by the overflow of information Mercedes laid on him.

"Yeah... I mean it takes a terrible person to kill 26 million people, probably more." Mercedes added. She wrote Adolf Hitler's name in large letters on top of the board and then wrote her name under it, followed by Sam's.  
Sam watched her fill the board up creatively in awe. The girl knew what she was doing and not once did she ask for his help.

"I hate it when the teachers choose our project ideas for us... I mean we get Hitler. While everybody gets other people who are way better than this douche was with his stupid mustache." Sam says to her. He watched Mercedes face smile under the board. "Like?" she asked.

"Like what?" Sam asked confused.

"You said there were people who were better subjects in history then Hitler. Like whom?" she asked again.

"I don't know... Maybe Shakespeare?" Sam said.

Mercedes finally looked from the board and up into his green eyes. "What do you know about Shakespeare?" she asked.

Sam arched forward and looked her in the eye. Mercedes was taken aback by his gaze; he looked like she was the only person in the whole library, no- in the world. Her lips parted and she fidgeted in her chair, waiting for him to say something.

After a very awkward silence not expecting him to say anything more, Mercedes looked back down to the board and continued to write. As she was writing Sam began to speak.

_"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate."  
_Mercedes looked up from her board in amazement. Sam eyes never left her as he continued.

_Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and summer's lease hath all too short a date."_

Once he was done Mercedes clapped lightly. Her shock faced grew into a wicked smile.

"Sam... I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised, I didn't take you for a guy who likes Shakespeare."

Sam shrugged and said "yeah... when I was in my preteens my old English teacher found out I was dyslexic, and she decided to help me. Afterschool she would read me Shakespeare and then break it down for me. I actually remembered some monologues and sonnets. That's why I'm actually better at English then most people with my deficiency... Whatever." Sam finished.

"Wow..." Mercedes began.

"What?" he asked.

"Well... You're just so much more than I ever thought you were." she blushed.

"And that would be?" he fished

"I thought you were just you know typical jock... Vain, vapid..." she bit her lip then continued "but you're... You're just more... A bit nerdy, with a nice voice. And a tendency to spit out Shakespearean soliloquy's on the fly."

Sam smiled. "You think I have a nice voice?" _gosh now he was blushing.  
_  
"Yeah. It's pretty good for a White guy. I mean... If I had to rate... You know what? Never mind." she said. _'Don't inflate his ego Mercedes' _she said to herself.

"No! Please continue... If you had to rate..."

"I was gonna say if I had to rate the glee guys by voice... You'd definitely be in my top 3." _Great. Now she was blushing under the dim light of the lamp in the library.  
_  
"Top 3? I'm flattered... Who are the other two? If you don't mind me asking." Sam wondered

"I guess it would be... Noah and Artie. They're both so talented. I wish they got more solo's."

_"Great she picked my arch enemies."_Sam thought to himself.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked. Mercedes was putting some finishing touches on the board and nodded yes.

"You don't have to answer... But I was wondering. If you had to choose to marry any guy in the glee club... Who would it be?" Sam looked into her eyes and watched as Mercedes started laughing.

"Sam... Marry?" she said laughing louder now. Luckily there was hardly anyone in the library. So Mercedes didn't have to quiet down.

"Ok... Maybe marriage is a bit much. What about date? Would you date any guy in the glee club?" Sam's mind stayed on one thought _"please say me! Please say that you like me."_

Mercedes looked at him intently. In her mind she was saying "_you. If you didn't like stick figures with no ass."_but instead she said "I guess... Artie. But I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship."

Sam nodded and then looked away. _"Fucking artie. She likes artie. Not me."_

Mercedes finished up the board and then held it up in front of Sam. "It's amazing!" Sam said.

"Thank you. You helped." she replied.

"No. I didn't. It's all you Mercedes, it's... amazing. You're... amazing." Mercedes looked at him with astounding eyes. _'He gave me a compliment...'_she was cheesing now.

"You think I'm amazing?" she said with a smile.

Sam sat back trying to act like calling her amazing was no big deal. When in fact his heart was racing faster than a prize race horse at the Kentucky derby.

"Yeah. I mean everybody does. Don't they?" Mercedes' smile went away. For a second she thought he was just talking about how he felt. Just him, he thought she was amazing... But no- it had to be everyone else as well.

"Well, since were finished I guess we can go now." she started to gather her things and Sam followed her lead doing the same thing. It was so quiet that you could hear a pen drop from the other side of the library. Mercedes took the board and they headed to her car in complete silence. Sam figured that he had to fuck up once he said _"doesn't everybody?"_ it made his _'you're amazing'_ comment look too ambiguous. He wanted it to mean something then he had to open his dumbass mouth again.  
They got into the car and Mercedes turned the key ready to go.

_"Say something"_ Sam thought. _"Anything to break this silence."  
_  
"So the duets competition is tomorrow. I'm excited." he said to her.

"I'm excited too!" she said welcoming the conversation. "I love Quinn's voice. You too will sound great together."

"Yeah... I guess we do." he says. _He did not want to talk about Quinn right now.  
_  
"Please stop acting so nonchalant! You and Quinn sound like musical harmony. And you too look great together. Like a real life Ken and Barbie." Mercedes didn't want to mention how great they were together. Frankly because she was still holding onto his _'you're amazing'_comment, and if she was being honest she did have a small crush on him. Even though she didn't go for blondes- or white boys in particular but she couldn't help it. Nothing could make her hate Quinn. They were like soul sisters or something. And if being with Sam would make Quinn happy, then Mercedes was all for it.

"Quinn has her great moments. And yes she's beautiful and incredibly talented, but I'm kinda over it." Sam managed to say. _"Let's talk about something else please! Anything.'_he thought. Mercedes just nodded and tapped her hands on the wheel.

"What about you and Artie... I mean if you want to talk about eargasms then look no further. You two sound amazing together.  
Mercedes smiled in agreement. "Yeah, I love me some artie." she said.

"Then why don't you ask him out?" Sam said. _"Really? Now you're just giving her to him? You're an idiot Sam. An idiot!"  
_  
"What?" Mercedes asked turning her face to him.

"I mean if you love him so much, and you're always at his house or hanging out with him... Why don't you just ask him out?"

"I love Artie, as a friend. Only. He's awesome and sweet and kind. Plus he doesn't like me that way."

"Oh I think he does..." Sam said matter of factly.

"Do you have information that I don't? Because I would love to hear It." she said

"no. But I do think that when you want something... Or someone, you do something about it. These are the best years of our lives... If we don't take risks... Then what do we do?" Sam felt like kicking himself. He just gave her great advice about going for something when he was sitting in a car with the girl he couldn't stop thinking about and he wasn't saying anything to her. _'Dumbass'_he thought.

"Yeah, but rejection hurts. Even if you really wanted that person or thing. Knowing they don't want you back stings like a bitch." Mercedes' car stopped in front of the motel she unbuckled her seatbelt and waited for him to reply.

"You never know until you try though... Right?" he said looking in her eyes.

"I guess... Well anyway, have a nice night Sam."  
As she was looking at him, Sam decided that maybe he should take his own advice.

"Hey... Do you want to go to the movies with me on Friday?" he asked nervously.

Mercedes confused expression didn't help matters. "What?" Sam asked.

"You want to go to the movies..."

"Yes."

"With me?"

"Yes..." Sam said again. He looked at her face and he could tell she was leaning towards a no way. But he wasn't going to give her that satisfaction.

"Umm it's not a date..." Sam began. Her face softened by that confession.

"And Quinn will be there!" he said. "I just thought you know if you were bored you could come, I mean were all friends and friends do things together and-" she cut him off. "Ok sure. Why not." she said.

His eyes glittered at her. She had the same look he did. "Great so Friday... 7oclock?" Mercedes nodded. Sam smiled and then hopped out of the car. She waved to him then drove off.

* * *

Sam came inside and threw his book bag down. His smile never left his face. He had a date with Mercedes... Well it wasn't a date. It was a non-date... Which included Quinn. Who had no idea about any of it. Sam decided he was going to talk to her in the morning. He showered, and then went over to kiss Stacy and Stevie on the head. He went over to the couch, and got on his knees. He prayed that his family would be ok. He prayed that his glee family was as well. He prayed that they'd win nationals and finally he prayed he had a dream where Mercedes was his wife again. He laid down and went to sleep.

* * *

Awaken by a presence; Sam stirred in the white sheets. With his eyes still closed he took in the scent... Hoping to get a Whiff of Mercedes from the pillows. With no such luck he rolled over and saw that the sleeping woman next to him wasn't Mercedes. It was that blonde women. What was her name? _'Emma'_he thought.

She rolled over to him and smiled.

"Hey sexy..." she said. Sam's body tensed up at her voice. She was touching his naked chest and all he could think about was how he still had a wedding ring on, and was lying next to a woman who wasn't Mercedes.

"So you want a morning meal?" she asked him.

"Yeah... I guess I could eat." he managed to say. If he was being honest, he was always hungry in these damn dreams. A smile formed on her lips, she got up and straddled him. Sam sat up taken aback by her gesture.

"What are you doing?" he asked

"your morning meal silly... So what do you want today? Hand job or a blow?"  
Her smiled turned seductive as she looked down at him.

"Neither!" he yelled. He pushed her off of him and looked around, he definitely wasn't at his and Mercedes' house. There were no pictures of them or sweet smells of her floating in the air.

"Sam! What the hell is your problem?"  
She spat.

"I'm just confused! Why... Why are we doing this? Why am I cheating on Mercedes with you?" he was at the foot of the bed now so that he could stay far away from her. She smiled again and crawled to him. She put her arms around his neck and breathed into him.

"It's been a month... And you're asking me this now... What happened, you getting cold feet?"

"What are you talking about? Just answer my question! What made me cheat?"

She looked into his eyes ignoring his questions. She began kissing his neck and Sam pull her away again. Emma did not like that gesture.

"You know what Sam? Get out. I'm not dealing with your bi-polarness today. I'm still angry you screamed her name when you came."

Sam was officially disgusted with himself. He went over to Emma who was putting on her robe. He grabbed her hands and looked into her eyes intently.

"Please..." he begged. "Answer me! Why do we sleep together?"

"You're acting like you don't remember?" Emma says.

"It's because I don't. I feel like my mind is blank. Can you just answer me?"

"Look... I don't know what game you're playing but I don't like it. You and me, we have fun because you and her are practically over. You know this sam... You're the one who started this... Don't your remember? "_She's too good for me?"_she mimicked him.

Sam stood there lost in thought. Emma's words playing over and over. "_She's too good for me..."_

Sam woke up at three am and didn't go back to sleep. The pretty blonde's words stuck in his head like a terrible song playing over and over on the radio.

_"She's too good for me."_

* * *

_A/N: about the Shakespeare, I know that was plain silly but why do I believe that there is way more to sam than good looks and impressions? Also that was taken from personal experience. So if you thought it was kinda cheesy, I totes agree, but hey…it's my story. lol  
_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So thanks to a mild threat from **_**Gurlchocolate**_** I wrote this in a day. I know I didn't update it the next day. (Sorry face) But I usually wait until it's a new week to update. So thanks to her for the motivation. **_**Okay so some context before reading:**_

**The dream Sam has is totally different from his usual dreams. It's more an outer body experience dream. (If you catch my drift.) **

**Oh by the way if you are totes angry at me for how it plays out tell me. I take constructive criticism pretty well.**

**Lastly, **_**Jadziwine:**_** never seen an episode of doctor who. But now I'm thoroughly interested! :) anyway, Chapter 7...  
**

* * *

Sam was in math class failing to answer an algebraic equation. Luckily his partner was Quinn. Not only was she incredibly beautiful, but she was also smart. Sam didn't know why but he was now sitting there and seeing just how much alike Mercedes and Quinn were. If you erased the thin lines of color and size, and got down to the brass tacks of beauty and smarts it was like they were the same person. Given, Quinn is an ice queen and Mercedes is more open and nice, but they had a lot of undeniable similarities. _'No wonder why they're friends_' Sam said to himself.

He was looking at Quinn write and solve the equations better than Archimedes would himself, at the same time wondering if she realized he was watching her. Quinn must've read his thoughts or something because she shot up and gave him a glance that could literally kill, if this was a fantasy or comic book of course.

"What?" Quinn said frigidly.

"What?" he repeated.

"Why the H-E double hockey sticks are you staring at me? I thought you only had eyes for Mercedes..." Quinn teased.

"Shut up." Sam yelled, but his tone was playful as well. The teacher looked over to him and Quinn and put her finger to her lips signaling them to be quiet.

"So... How are things in: I love Mercedes but I won't tell her land?" Quinn asked

"I don't love Mercedes... I just, feel a certain way towards her that a guy feels for a girl when he likes her." after the words came out of Sam's mouth he wished he didn't say them. He sounded like a total jackass.

"So you're horny for her?" Quinn started to lightly laugh but it was subtle, the teacher didn't even notice.

"Quinn just stop... I'm not in love or horny. I just like her okay?"

"Well at least you can finally admit that much." Quinn pushed.

"Yeah... This brings me to my next point."

Quinn put her pen down and looked at him intently, waiting for him to say something.

"I asked Mercedes out." he said bluntly. At first Quinn's face showed no sign of emotion, and then like always it came like a tidal wave, she smiled wide and clapped her hands reaching over to hug Sam. The bell rung which meant it was time for lunch Sam and Quinn didn't leave the classroom just yet.

"Oh my god Sam! I can't believe it! You don't know how happy this makes me!" she started, " ...But you know what's weird? Mercedes and I walked to third period together and she didn't say anything about having a date with you."

"Yeah... That's what I wanted to talk to you about-" Sam was cut off again by Quinn. She was picking up her book bag and her binder and then she got up and hugged him again. _She's way too excited about two people who aren't her getting together._Sam thought.

"Sam... Do you know what this means? You two can be a new glee club supercouple! Ahhhh!" Quinn bounced up and down.

Sam finally stood up and put his hands on Quinn shoulders to stop her cheers.

"Quinn! Before you go and start picking amalgamations with our names you need to know something." Quinn settled and sat back down.

"It's not a date." Sam finally managed to get out.

"It's not a date?" Quinn repeated as a question

"no. Well... It's was meant to be but..."

"But!" Quinn said defensively.

"I asked her at first with every intent on it being a date. But I was... I was afraid she was going to reject me... So I told her that it wasn't a date... It was more like just three friends hanging out at the movies together."

"Wait... Three?" Quinn asked confused.

"Yeah... That's the other thing... I told her you were going to be there." Sam gulped hard once he saw Quinn's angry face come into play. He was all too familiar with that face, when they were dating she gave him that face a lot. He now had nightmares of that face.

She got up, put her book bag on and then subsequently slapped him over the head like he was a bad child that had just got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"Ouch!" Sam said rubbing his head through the blonde locks.

"Samuel Evans you are an idiot!" she screamed.

"I know." is all he said back.

"You do know that even if Mercedes had any feelings for you, they are now diminished by the fact that you friend zoned her! With me in the middle! Hell she probably thinks that she's gonna be some third wheel in some twisted thing me and you have going on."  
Sam never thought of it that way. He was so excited she said yes, he never took the time to think about how she must feel. And then he mentioned Quinn. _Oh god Quinn, his Ex-girlfriend_, Mercedes already thinks that they're great together. "Yeah I'm a dumbass." Sam said to Quinn.

"Well there's no fixing it now... What day and time is this 'non date'?" Quinn asked.

"Friday. 7 o clock." says sam.

"Ok I'll be there. For Mercedes sake only." she got up to turn away then she looked back at him and shook her head.

"I'll see you in glee club. Don't forget today is duets day." Quinn walked out. Sam stayed and buried his face into his hands. _"Yeah... He was officially screwed."_

* * *

Everyone crowded in the Choir room and they all were admittedly pumped for the duets competition. Mercedes was sitting right next to Artie, laughing and cackling. As usual it seemed as though she and him were the best of friends. Sam came over and sat next to her and she didn't even notice. _Was Artie really saying something so hilarious that she couldn't even give him a hello? _Sam felt himself getting angry. Quinn walked into the room and didn't look at Sam either. She sat next to him with her nose turned up and her sandal tapping against the floor.

Mr. Shue told everyone to be quiet and Brittany and Puck started off the competition. They sang a duet version of _Ke$ha's The Harold Song_, which Santana pointed out was brilliantly picked. Artie wanted to agree, but as Brittany and Puck sang in the final bridge, Mercedes leaned over and put her head on his shoulder, in which Artie invited comfortably. Sam looked right over to them and then looked at Quinn who gave him a told you so stare. Sam put his head down for most of the rest of the duets. He didn't know what songs Tina and Finn sang, or Gayberry. Which he silently called Kurt and Rachel's budding friendship. Santana and Mike were next but it was less of a duet than everybody realized. Mike did a great job in his duet with his life partner Tina, but he was still shy when it came to just singing. So Santana chose _Mariah Carey's Fantasy_ and Mike danced around her. Santana was looking at Brittany the whole time singing. Even when she and mike joined hands in a choreographed dance to the song. After a while Sam drowned them out and tried to focus. He and Quinn were next. And although the song they picked was cute and sweet. It was a love song and Sam was worried that Mercedes would take it the wrong way. Sam didn't want Quinn. And if that's what it looked like then he would opt out of the duets competition right now, just to prove that fact. But alast he couldn't because Mr. Shue was now calling his and Quinn's names.  
Sam grabbed his guitar and started strumming the chords to _Taylor Swift's Love Story_. Quinn began the first verses with Sam joining in the chorus and then he took the second, while Quinn gave her best 'oohs' and 'aahs'. Sam decided to be a little bold; he turned away from Quinn and walked slowly towards the front of the classroom. He was standing in front of everyone but his eyes on Mercedes. Mercedes noticed and started to fidget. She wondered if everyone else noticed that he was singing right to her. Quinn saw how uncomfortable Mercedes was and how Sam didn't have two fucks to give about who saw him. She did her best to saunter over to him, putting his attention back on her. They finished up the last lines together and everyone clapped. Mercedes smiled wide giving Sam a look that gave him a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. _'Maybe she does like me.'_Sam thought. He sat back down and then Mr. Shue gave the last couple the floor.

Mercedes and Artie walked to the front of the room and then the band started to play. Artie started the verse of _K.C and Jo-Jo's All My Life._  
He was singing to Mercedes like she was the only one in the room. Mercedes joined in and then sung the second verse to Artie. Artie rolled towards her with his vocals underlining her and they held hands. They belted out the last note together and then everyone in the room stood, giving Mercedes and Artie a standing ovation.

Mercedes smiled and looked over to Sam. He was doing the loudest clapping in the room and he was whistling things like _bravo!_ _Encore!_She couldn't help but blush. Mr. Shue motioned both of them to sit back down. He then told the glee club that he would have his decision by Friday. They had some time to themselves after school and everyone started talking about the duets. Mercedes got up to use the bathroom and both Sam and Artie watched her exit the room. Quinn noticed and she just shook her head.

"I think I'm gonna do it." Artie said to no one in particular.

"Do what?" Sam asked.

"I think I'm gonna ask Mercedes out." he said turning to Sam and Quinn.

Sam and Quinn both had the same expression. Shock and confusion.  
Sam turned to Quinn with pleading eyes, like he was saying _do something!  
_  
"What... What brought this on Artie?" Quinn stumbled over her words.

"I don't know. I always talk about how beautiful Mercedes is and how wonderful, but that duet just proved what I've been trying to deny... Me and Mercedes were meant to be."

"How can you know this from a duet? It was just singing." Sam said desperately.

"I think I always knew. She never judges me, we sound great together, and my parents love everything about her. My mom is always asking me why we are just friends... I've been sitting here chasing all the wrong girls. Mercedes is the one... I know it!"

Mercedes was walking back into class and Artie rolled over to her and they talked for little bit before, he took her hand and they rolled out into the hallway. Sam looked at Quinn, who looked back at him with the same wordless expression. _"You're/I'm doomed."_

* * *

It was Friday and it was time for the non-date from hell. All week Mercedes was on air and no one knew why. But she did. And she was happy. That was until Glee club. Mr. Shue announced that he was scrapping the duets idea because he couldn't choose. So instead they were going to write original songs for nationals. Mercedes was pissed, simply because she knew what this meant. Rachel was getting the solo and then she would be swaying in the background with the rest. She was so pissed she left glee club as soon as Mr. Shue said they could go.

Sam was happy about today. He had no idea what happened between her and Artie and Artie refused to tell anyone and Mercedes seemed to be on air, but today was the day that Sam could change her mind. Say that: Artie and her were a so called 'item' she still agreed to this non date and Sam knew that Mercedes would keep her word. So Sam took it upon himself to make it an awesome day. His plan was to pay Quinn little to no attention and show Mercedes that he was definitely interested. If Artie thought he was just going to win the battle for Mercedes that easily he was sorely mistaken. Evans men don't give up. Especially when they got their eye on something or someone. In Sam's mind Mercedes was still free range, until she said otherwise. Mercedes seemed happy all day until glee, Sam observed. She left class abruptly and Sam noticed and went after her. He followed her to her car and then startled her as he tapped on her shoulder.

"Yes Samuel?" she said in quite a nasty tone.

"Ooh no one calls me that unless they're pissed at me. Is there something wrong?"

Mercedes sighed. "Except for that fact that berry is going to end up getting the solo once again? Then I have to sit back and hear her and Finn suck the soul out of one more song? No I'm as happy as a morning bird!" she said the last part very sarcastically.

"Look Rachel's awesome... But if I'm being totally honest, you sound way better than her. If or that whole glee club can't see it then it's their lost!" he noticed her mouth form a small smile so he continued.

"You know what? Let's start our own club! Yeah... Well start our own glee club and call it _'The We Are Better than Your Glee Club, Club!' _Where only people who can really _sang_ can get in!"  
Mercedes started laughing uncontrollably. She slapped his chest and he caught her hand by accident. In that moment they both looked at each other. Silently their minds synced, both of them thinking the same thing. _"Do you feel that? Sparks."_Sam slowly let her hand go and she started to open her car.

Sam quickly remembered why he ran out after her and asked, "Are we still going to the movies tonight?"

She turned to him and said, "of course. I made I promise. So should I pick you up?"  
"Actually... If you wouldn't mind, yeah." Sam didn't need a ride. He had his father's truck all night, but spending alone time with her before the non-date from hell was vital.

"Ok see you at 6. And you should know... I like to watch the commercials."

"I figured you did. See you then."  
They both smiled at each other and Mercedes got in her car and left.

* * *

Sam was pissed beyond belief. His father and mother told him at the last moment that they both had to work which left him watching Stevie and Stacy. Stacy and Stevie sat at the small table, looking up at Sam waiting for instructions and food. Sam was making them sandwiches when he phone rang, it was Quinn.

"Hey..." she said

"Quinn, I'm kinda busy... What's up?"

"Mercedes called me... She said she's on her way to you and wanted to know if I also needed a ride to the theater."

_Shit._Sam forgot about Mercedes coming to pick him up.

"What did you tell her?" he inquired.

"I told her that I was under the weather, and couldn't make it. You're welcome."

"Quinn! She isn't gonna come if you're not there!" he let out a frustrated groan and then remembered "What am I talking about I can't go anyway."

"First of all she said it was fine, in fact she's on her way there now... Wait why aren't you going! Do you want artie to have her?"

"What? No. My parent stuck me with the siblings. Nothing I can do. But don't worry, I'll just tell Mercedes that we can do it another time."

"Sam... This is your only shot at this; nobody knows what happened between her and artie. For all we know they could be dating already!" Quinn practically yelled at him.

"Well what do you want me to do _'Oh Great One'?"_

Before Quinn could answer he heard Stacy's voice. "Sam the pretty black girl from your school is at the door."  
Sam dropped his phone onto the top on mayonnaise. He was thanking baby Jesus that it didn't fall in. Sam washed his hands and went to the door. Mercedes and Stacy were talking.

"I like your dress." Stacy said to her. Mercedes smooth down the purple dress and said "thank you... Yours is really pretty too, and those pigtails make you look even more exquisite."

Sam smiled as Stacy turned to him and asked "Sammy... What does exquisite mean?"

"It's another word for good or amazingly beautiful." he said looking down at his little sister.

Stacy ran back into the kitchenette and yelled to Stevie, "Sam's friend thinks I'm exquisite!" she pronounced the word wrong but it still sounded so adorable when she said it.

Sam and Mercedes stood there for a quick second looking at each other before Sam said something.

"Would you like to come in?" Mercedes nodded and walked into the quaint motel room. Stevie and Stacy were at the table waiting to be fed and hitting each other accordingly.

"They look hungry..." Mercedes started.

"Yeah, I was just making them some sandwiches... Look Mercedes, I had no idea I would be watching them tonight. I'm sorry. I should've called and set another date."

"Relax... Sammy." she said toying with him. His face grew into a side smile. _'I like the way she said that.'_

"It's not like it was a date or anything..." '_Right..._" Sam thought. _'Not a date.'_

Mercedes looked around and saw the pathetic looking sandwiches he was making. She decided that maybe he needed some help. "How's about I help watch them? We can order a pizza, my treat!" she yelled. Stacy and Stevie jumped for joy.

"Pizza! Pizza! Sam's sandwiches are horrible." Stevie said

"Definitely not exquisite." Stacy added.

Mercedes laughed then looked at Sam with question in her eyes. "Fine!" Sam said. "Mercedes can stay... But you both have to promise to be good and... We're watching avatar."

Stacy and Mercedes booed but Stevie and Sam cheered. The night was going to be way better than Sam thought.

* * *

The night was coming to a close as Stevie and Stacy drifted off to sleep on the bed. Sam had to admit that it was the best night he had since becoming homeless. Stevie and Stacy laughed and joked with Mercedes and she threw it right back at them. She was so sweet and attentive. Making sure they didn't make a mess when they ate. And helping clean up the inevitable mess after the drifted off to sleep on the couch. Her and Sam hummed songs together in harmony while cleaning. And Sam busted out some jokes and very lame impressions that would've turned any girl off except Mercedes. She laughed at them no matter how lame or silly they were. Didn't mean she didn't call him out on them, but nevertheless she still enjoyed his Chris rock impression and his James earl jones ones the best. The night dwindled some more and then the kids woke up, showered, brushed their teeth then went to bed. Avatar was coming to a close for the third time that night and Sam and Mercedes had no idea they were sitting so close. Until he rubbed his hand against hers. They both laughed it off and that's when Mercedes decided it was time for her to go. Sam decided to walk her to her car. Even if it was only 15 feet away.

"I had a great time tonight. Thanks for helping me watch them." he said to her.

"No problem Sam, if you ever need any help you know you can call me! I'll come over with treats baked right from my kitchen."

"You bake?" he asked, She nodded. _'Marry me._' his conscience screamed.

"Well... I just might hold you to that." he said.  
She smiled then they stood there in silence, neither one of them knew what to do or say. _'Fuck it'_ Sam thought. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. She was taken aback at first then she hugged him just as tightly as he was hugging her. Sam was the first to release the hold and then he looked into her eyes. The moment got to Sam as he absently lowered his head to hers and kissed her lips. Mercedes stood there not kissing him back, and then as a millisecond passed she decided _'fuck it'_and pressed her lips to his. There was no tongue, just a sweet chaste kiss on both of their lips. Sam was holding onto her waist and he brought her in closer. He went for it and deepened the kiss... That's the moment she pushed him back.

"Sam... What the hell was that?" she asked confused.

"It was a kiss... And you kissed me back." He gave her a crooked half smile.

"Why did you kiss me?" she was so confused.

"Why did you kiss me?" he asked playing her game.

"I... I don't know."  
Sam moved forward to get closer to Mercedes. She pushed him away with her hand.

"I can't..." is all she could say.

"Why?" he grabbed her hand gently and out it came. This time it wasn't word vomit. "Mercedes... I like you."

"don't." she said

"don't what?"

"Don't like me, stop liking me!" she released his hands and got in her car and quickly jetted away.

* * *

After staying in the parking lot for a good five minutes, confused as ever, Sam's body was exhausted. Without even showering he flat lined into sleep.

This was not like any dream he had before. Sam didn't wake up surrounded by white sheets or women. He was in a packed club and the music was almost deafening. He walked through the club trying to see if there was anyone he knew. Then he saw her. The woman he's been having an affair with. He exhaled and decided to let it play out. He stopped trying to fight his dreams a long time ago. Somewhere between Mercedes' beautiful lingerie and waking up with hard ons. He went over to the bar and prepared to talk to her when a tall man came over and hugged her. Sam didn't get a good look at the man but he had dark blonde hair, and was the exact height of Sam. Except he had a blond shaggy beard. Sam moved closer to get a better look at him. The man ordered a scotch neat. A manly drink, while Emma orders a Cosmo. Guess she was trying to be flirty. Sam thought. He finally made his way to the bar and got a good look at the man. Then Sam noticed that the man was him. Except, older, and scruffier.

But how could that be? I'm always the future Sam in my own dreams! Sam was confused. He sat down next to Emma and screamed "HELLO!" at her but Emma wasn't fazed. It was like he was a ghost or something.

Emma started laughing at older Sam's joke. Then put her hand on his shoulder. Sam listened intensively to their convo.

"So, how's your wife?" she asked him

Sam shrugged... Present Sam could see he was getting a light buzz. He ordered another scotch then drunk it down like water. Then he ordered another, savoring it.

"My wife just told me that she slept with my best friend when she was in college." he laughed lightly and then drunk down the remaining contents of his scotch then ordered one more.

"Aww Sam I'm sorry. Were you too still together when it happened?"

"Nope. I was dating... Quinn. Do you know her? You should see her, she's beautiful. But She never loved me the way..." his voice trailed off.

"So why are you so hung up about Mercedes and that other guy? It was before you got together."

"Mercedes was always mine... No one else's. Now look at me! I have to share her with the world!" future Sam stood up on his stool and raised his glass to everyone. Present Sam was embarrassed enough for the both of them. Emma helped him back down and she laughed.

"Easy there big guy..." she said.

"Did you know she was in japan on my birthday? Freaking japan. And I swear she's screwing her new/ old chorographer. They spend so much time in that dance studio... Bartender!" Sam yelled. The bartender passed him another drink.

"So you think she's cheating on you?" Emma asked.

"Yes. I know she is... You know even in high school she was amazing. The fucking cream rising to the top! And what am I? Nothing..." he drank down yet another scotch.

"Sam your album is number 1 in the US and Canada. You topped the country charts in billboard's hot 200."

"She's still better than me… everything she does will always be better than whatever I do… damnit, She's too good for me." after the last drink the bartender cut him off. Present Sam sat there hoping what happened next wasn't what he thought was going to happen.

Emma leaned into him on the bar and said, "I'm not."

"What?" he asked his words slurred.

"I'm not too good. In fact you know what I'm not good at all." he came closer so that they were face to face.

"Is that right?" he smiled. Present Sam ran in between them and screamed "don't do this Sam! Not to Mercedes, not to yourself!"

"Yes. And you know what they say... If you want to get back at the person who's cheating on you... You cheat on them."

"Is that what that say?"  
He asked. Emma nodded and pulled him by his collar. Future Sam was to inebriated to pull away and he followed her out of the club.

Present Sam stood there in shock. This was the first time he cheated on his wife. And now he knew why, but if it was just a drunken one time mistake... Why does it continue?

* * *

He woke up at 4am on a Saturday in his cheap motel room and cursed into the pillow. _"Quinn's right... I'm doomed."  
_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I know some people might be mad at me for how this play's out but after 7 chapters of angst, My muse forced me to write this. So if you're mad take it out on me in the reviews. I promise not to Santana cry while reading them. Okay some context before reading: Sam is having yet another outer body dream. (Okay done… chapter 8)**

Sam's weekend was a blow. That was the best way he could put it. He ended up working all weekend and on top of that he couldn't stop thinking about Mercedes. They kissed for the first time and this time it wasn't a dream. It was real. His lips on hers, moving and gyrating together in harmony. Sam admitted to himself that in his dreams the kisses were good, verging on downright heavenly. But in reality they were so much more than heaven, if that made sense. Sam shuddered at the memory of how perfectly their lips felt together. She had the softest, sweetest lips he ever came across. All he kept thinking at the time was _"damn_..." and things like "_deeper... So soft_... _I want more_..." then she had to pull away. Her eyes looked so frightened, Sam still wondered why. Sure he caught her off guard and laid one on her, but was it really that bad that she got in her car and left quicker than speedy Gonzalez? After Sam woke up from the dream from hell on Saturday morning he got up, washed and ate breakfast. After some contemplating, he texted Mercedes.

_**"Hey... Hope you're doing alright."**_the text read. He didn't know why, but a part of him knew she wasn't going to text him back. Sam cursed himself for texting her in the first place, he threw his phone down on the couch and sighed. After almost 15 minutes with no reply Sam tried to keep himself busy. He turned on the TV and was flipping through the channels when his phone buzzed. He scurried for it quickly hoping Mercedes was the one hitting him up. But nope it was Quinn. He pushed the answer button reluctantly and said, "Hello Quinn... How can I help you?"

"Well it's simple; you can tell me how your night went... I know Mercedes helped watch the kids with you."

"And how do you know that?" he questioned.

"I called my girl this morning. She said she spent Friday night with you and your crazy siblings." _'So she has time to talk to Quinn but not me?_' Sam was livid.

"What else did she tell you?" he asked.

"Not much... Said you and her hung out, watched the kids and then she left." Quinn replied.

"Ahh... So she didn't tell you..." Sam started.

"Tell me what?" Quinn's voice got higher than usual, it only happens when she gets excited. "Samuel Evans! Did something happen between you two that I should know about?"

"Let's just say... I made a move; she didn't like it and whatever I thought I felt between us... Wasn't anything I guess?" Sam sighed into the phone.

"Sam... What did you do? Oh my god please tell me you did not touch her ass!" Quinn yelled.

"What the hell Quinn! Do you think I'm some sort of sexual deviant that whenever I get a girl alone I want to pounce on them?"

Sam could feel Quinn's icy shrug over the phone. "No I don't... Sam, just tell me what happened."

"Fine!" he started. "The kids went to sleep and we were watching avatar and our hands grazed..." Quinn started squeeing into the phone. Sam shook his head.

"And...?" she asked inquisitively

"And then she said she needed to go home so I went to walk her to her car, I thanked her for helping me watch Stacy and Stevie and then I hugged her."

"Did she hug you back?"

"Yes. And for a moment I read the signs wrong because I... I kissed her."

"_WHAT!"_Quinn was screaming at the top of her lungs now. "Oh my god Sam did she kiss you back?"

"At first no... Then she started too so I went in to deepen the kiss, and that's when she pulled away. I grabbed her hands and told her that I liked her and she simply told me not to."

"Wait... Slow down. She told you not to like her? Why?"

"I don't know Quinn! Fear? Rejection? Race? Size? Me being homeless? Take your pick. There could be a million reasons why she doesn't want me."

"I don't think any of those are the real problem Sam."

"Then why? Why do I have these dreams where were together and yet I cheat then in reality I finally admit to what I've been honestly keeping in since prom... Only to get rejected? Do you know how it feels Quinn? When we kissed I felt something I never felt with you or Santana. It felt amazing, like if I had to only kiss her lips for the rest of my sorry life I would! Why Quinn? Why?"

"Are you done?" Quinn said dryly.

"Yeah. I guess I'm just pissed that she doesn't want me- whatever."

"Sam... Before you off of and start writing your very own Greek tragedy featuring you and Mercedes I think you should find out the real reason why she left so quickly.

"Okay then do you have an explanation?"

"You remember Artie Abrams right? We still have no idea what happened between them. Maybe that's why she pulled away."

Sam sat back on the couch and hit his head. He forgot all about her and Artie's conversation last week.

"Okay well if neither of them wants to fess up how do we find out?"

"Oh god Sam... You really need to stop dreaming about Mercedes and focus more often. Who is the only person in glee club that Mercedes trust the most?"

"Well that would be Kurt. But I thought they hardly talk since Rachel stole her best gay from under Mercedes' cute little button nose."

"Really Sam?" Quinn laughed "You've got it so bad."

"So you think she told Kurt?" Sam asked ignoring her comment.

"I know she did. In fact the proof will be in the pudding. Here's the plan: I'm calling Kurt on three way. Don't say one word. And we'll know everything."

"Fine." Sam said desperately. The plan was stupid but he really needed to know if her and Artie had a thing... Sam would sadly bow out and silently let Artcedes happen.  
Quinn called Kurt and they said their pleasantries and things. Sam drowned most of it out until the conversation finally got to Mercedes.

"Speaking of Mercedes..." Quinn began.  
"Do you know if she's seeing anyone? I had this cousin who's going to be staying with me for a while and I think they would be cute together."

Sam bit his lips nervously. _'Come on Kurt say no!'_

"Well... Mercy told me not to say anything..." Kurt began. "So you have to swear to Gaga's egg that you won't repeat what I'm about to tell you."

When Kurt swore on Gaga that's how you knew shit was about to get real. Sam felt himself breathing a little heavily so he toned down as Quinn sweared on Gaga's egg.

"Artie asked her out. They're going on a date tonight... And who knows what could happen after that." Kurt spilled.

Quinn gave her fake laughs and quips about how great they would be then ended the phone call with both Sam and Kurt. Sam felt like someone just took his heart out and stomped it. And the reason? Because he knew that Mercedes and Artie had chemistry. They meshed well together. And going on a date would just prove that fact. Sam knew his chances were gone. Whatever sparks or fireworks he felt, he now had to bury. He flipped back on the TV and then saw that his phone had a text.

**Blondie:**hey. I'm sorry Sam. U ok?

He texted her back. **"I'll be fine Quinn."  
**  
_'Maybe it's all for the best.'_ Sam thought. _'Artie would be good to her... Yeah, he would.'_

* * *

On Monday Sam tried his best to keep his emotions in check. It was time for history class and Mercedes sat at his table, for the sole purpose of the project on Hitler that they had to give in on Friday. He and Whitney sat there in silence while kids still filled the room. Whitney was flashing him her sex eyes and Sam wished that she would just GTFO. And stay away from him.

"Hey... You didn't come to my party, what gives?" she asked

"Whitney let me put it like this... I don't want you. Not now... Not ever." he said bluntly. He wished she would just get the hint.

"Just wait... You'll be changing her tune soon. They all do." she winked at him and flipped her red hair around. Sam shook his head at anal girl. _She really was something. He thought._ It was five minutes till the last bell and that's when Sam knew Mercedes wasn't coming. He put his head down and silently blamed himself. _'Maybe she's scared to face me?_' Sam said to himself. Then at the last minute she came in right before final bell and took her seat across from Sam. Sam smiled at her as the teacher began handing back their projects with grades on them.

"Hey..." he said breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"hey." she said back.

"So... Umm how was your weekend?" he asked scratching the back of his head. He wanted to seem nonchalant about it but if he was being honest it came out kind of desperately.  
Before Mercedes could say anything Whitney opened her mouth. "My weekend would've been great if you had come over to my party and we got rid of the growing sexual tension between us."

Sam turned to Whitney and said, "There's no sexual tension between us Whitney. And you know why? Because I don't go for girls who are more open then Georgia dome its self... And I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Mercedes." Sam put his full attention back on Mercedes, while Whitney scoffed and mumbled under her breath. Mercedes was about to say something when once again they were interrupted, this time by the teacher. She handed them the project then gave them each a paper with their individual grades.

"A!" Mercedes rejoiced

"I got one two! Sam said showing her his paper. "I wouldn't of if you didn't help me with the essay part." he smiled at her. She smiled back softly.

"What the hell? An F?" Whitney got up to yell at the teacher, finally leaving Sam and Mercedes to talk alone.

"So... You were going to tell me about your weekend?" Sam asked again

"Oh it was good I guess." she shrugged her shoulders

"You guess? Nothing... Interesting happened?" he was inquiring about two things: whether she liked the kiss he surprised her with and her date with Artie. And he hoped she knew what he was hinting at.

"No... Nothing."

After class Sam watched her get up and walk out with a swing in her hips. He felt his pants tightening at the memory of his dream he had Sunday night.

_"Harder baby harder!" Mercedes screamed as he pushed into her backside._

_Apparently future Sam was a bit of a roughhouse with his woman because she kept screaming for him to go deeper and harder and present Sam was trying but failing to do her like his future self would._  
_Mercedes' orgasm was weak and then she got off the bed and said "you used to be so good at giving it to me rough baby... I guess it's just stress." she kissed his head and walked into the bathroom closing the door_

* * *

Sam was both embarrassed and aroused at the memory. He fought back his thoughts and his erection as he entered the hallway. He saw her standing at her locker alone and figured that this could be his chance to actually talk to her about what happened Friday night. But in hindsight, Bad move seeing at though he was half mass and she was the cause of it without even knowing.

"Hey, Mercedes can we talk?" he asked

"Sure Sam... What do you want to talk about?" she said closing her locker.

"About... What happened on Friday...? Between us?"

"Look you don't have to say anything. It was the heat of the moment and we both got a little carried away." Mercedes began walking and Sam was right by her trying to keep up the pace. _'Damn this woman can walk fast!'  
_  
"I don't think that's all it was Mercedes." Sam stopped her by grabbing her hand. She tried to break away from him but he held on tighter, turning her body towards his.

"What are you doing?" Mercedes asked.  
Sam moved even closer now, closing the small space between them. He interlocked his fingers with hers and then stared into her eyes with a predatory gaze. Mercedes was entranced for a moment, looking deep into those emerald eyes, she felt like he was staring right into her soul. That's when she pushed him back hard and Sam stumbled back two steps, bringing him back to reality. '_Artie'_Sam said in the back of his mind...

"have you lost your damn mind Blondie?" she crossed her arms in front of her and gone was Mercedes, only one left now was the diva jones.

"Mercedes look... I just..." she put her hand up to his face signaling him to stop talking.

"I don't know what's gotten into you but, but I don't play those…" Mercedes began. This time it was Sam's turn to cut her off, except not with words. Before he knew what he was doing, He grabbed her face and smashed his mouth to hers, pulling her closer to him than humanly possible. This time Mercedes didn't try to get away or push him. She kissed him back with just as much passion and desperation. As Sam opened his mouth and tongues came into play Mercedes moaned lowly against his now puffy salamander lips. He loved the sound he elicited out of her so he deepened the kiss and put his idle hands on her waist. She took hers and ran them through his growing blonde locks, tucking them behind his ears. Sam finally realized that they were kissing in the hallway in school- where Artie was... Mercedes' maybe boyfriend. He kissed her three more times chastely and then their lips parted. They were still close, taking in each other's breaths. Mercedes pulled on the bottom of his tight shirt and then opened her eyes to see him already looking into hers.

"Sam..." she said. It came out in a whispery moan.

"Mercedes?" he asked.  
She moved inches away from him and backed up against the lockers.

Silence grew between them as they looked at each other in the empty hallway. After a while Mercedes said "you can't keep kissing me Sam."

Sam bowed his head in shame at his desperation but dammit there was something about this goddess in front of him. She had a hold on him without even knowing it. At first Sam thought it was the dreams that allured him to her. But after a talk with the smartest person he knew: _himself,_he found out that he'd been attracted to her for a while now. I mean Rachel asked him to the prom solo and he outright said no. But when he knew it Mercedes was gonna be there he jumped on the yes ship. And why? Because he could admit it now... He wants Mercedes. There's only so much denial you could do after taking sneak peeks at her bountiful ass anyway.

"What if I can't?" Sam replied.

"You need to try..." Sam was moving towards her now and Mercedes felt her back against the Locker. _'Shit_' she said silently. She had nowhere to go.

"But what if I can't? And don't want to?" Sam said it again looking into her eyes intently. His voice got deeper/ and dark with every other word.

"Sam... I honestly don't know what to tell you"

"Is this about Artie?" Sam asked. He didn't want to bring it up but Artie was an elephant in the room and as far as Sam knew it was the only thing between them.

"Artie? What does Artie have to do with this?"

"Well Quinn had mentioned you guys had a date on Saturday and I figured that's why you left so quickly after we kissed... Am I right?"

"Quinn? How the hell does Quinn know? **Oh my gosh Kurt!**I'm gonna strangle him and then he won't get to live to see the new gaga album come out!"

"I'm sorry... I didn't... I don't want to be the reason you and Artie don't work. But I meant what I said Mercedes, I like you... A lot. But if you want to be with Artie that's fine." Sam put his head down. Gosh he felt like a total jackass. He slid down the lockers and hit his head against it.  
Mercedes smiled and then slid down beside him.

"Sam... There's something you need to know... A lot of things actually." she gave off an ironic laugh. Sam turned to her and said, "Like?"

"I did go out on a date with Artie and it was a great time..."

"Okay..." Sam didn't know how to respond to that.

"I was late to class today because artie and I were talking... We both agreed that there could be something between us. But... We also agreed that we should just stay friends." Sam perked up at the last part. His heart was doing the Crip walk in his chest.

"So there's no... You and Artie?"  
She laughed and shook her head. "Nope. But we did agree to get married after six years if were still single of course."

"Well what about now? What does that mean for...? You and I?"

"Honestly? I have no idea. If you want the truth Sam I've been into you for a while but I never thought you would like me. So I fought it... Then that kiss, on Friday. It was..."

"Amazing?" Sam said with a smile.  
She nodded her head. "But you scare me Sam."

"What? How do I scare you?"

"Because I could see myself falling for you." She said honestly. After that she dipped her head down shyly. It wasn't something Sam was used to with Mercedes; she always said what needed to be said with full hubris. Now she looked like she was nine, hanging her head down at her first crush. Sam smiled and picked her chin up with his hand so that their eyes met.

"I feel the same way." he answered.

She blushed and said "then what do we do? With these feelings?"

"Well... We could pretend like we don't feel anything for another and walk away right now or..." he began

"or?" Mercedes asked with a smile.

"Or, this." Sam kissed her again. This time it was slow, soft and sweet. The three S' Mercedes loved the most. They sat there on the floor McKinley high school. Making out, for the third time. The bell rung meaning that the period was over. Sam and Mercedes got up before anyone saw and they kissed once more quickly before saying goodbye and going in opposite directions.

Quinn saw Mercedes walking down the hall and she looked like she was practically floating. Quinn ran up next to her and linked her arm with Mercedes. Mercedes smiled and said hello to her friend and then they walked down the hall together.

"Are you okay mercy?" Quinn asked. " You look like your glowing."

"I'm fine Q... In fact I'm absolutely prefect."

* * *

Sam got in late after work and he noticed he had a voicemail. It was from Mercedes.

_"Hey Sam... Its Mercedes, well I guess you already know that? (Light laughter) I know you're at work, and you won't get this until later but call me tomorrow? I met this cute blonde boy who's great at impressions and well... He told me he liked me and we made out for a good 5minutes... Anyway call me. I would love to tell you about him!"_

That's where the message ended. Sam smiled and then replayed it two times before taking a shower and curling up on the couch. He looked up at the celling and seriously contemplated on running outside and shouting _"I'm dating Mercedes jones!" _to whoever was still awake but instead he knelt down to pray and before going to sleep he added, _"goodnight Mercedes."_ before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Sam looked around and saw himself lying on the bed. He was having another dream where he wasn't his future self. He watched as his future self-woke up in the room he shared with his wife and then he got up to shower. He came our several minutes later in nothing but a towel and ran to pick up his phone that was buzzing.

"Hey beautiful" he said. _Oh god please let it not be Emma_. Present Sam thought.

"I miss you more..." _it's not Emma. It can't be Emma... Please let it not be Emma..._

"I wish I was there too! But London can't be that bad right?" he laughed at whoever it was on the phone.

"I love you too mercy..." present Sam threw his fist in the air! _It was Mercedes.  
_  
"Don't talk like that... Yeah I'm only in a towel... Well if you were here then maybe we could..." future Sam's comments were trailed off by a knock on the front door.

"Babe can I call you back? I promise I will... Ok bye I love you." Future Sam put on some gray sweat pants, skipping the shirt and made his way downstairs. Present Sam followed him to the door. And there she was in all her glory... Emma. She had on a black trench coat and she opened it showing her birthday suit to future Sam. His eyes widened and he grabbed her inside.

"I was hoping we could recreate what we did last night." she held onto her hips and moved towards him seductively.

"Last night was a mistake. And it will never happen again! I love my wife!" future Sam yelled.

"Yeah? Is that why you fucked me last night? Because you love her so much?"

"You need to go now!" he pulled her arm and tried to get her out of the door.

"No! I'm not going anywhere!" she pushed him off of her hard and then tied her coat together.

"Get the out of my house! I never want to see you again."

"That's a tough one seeing as though my father owns the record company you're under. Remember how hard it was Sammy... For you to finally get a record deal? My father was the only one who believed in you."

"What do you want Emma?" he yelled.

"That's easy. _I want you_."

"Emma look... Last night I was drunk and I was throwing my insecurities around. I never meant to sleep with you. And it's eating at me. I'm sorry that I used you. But I love my wife. And I'm never leaving her."

"You don't have to leave her. I have a proposition for you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I want you to have sex with me… behind your wife's back."

Future Sam looked at her like she was freaking crazy. "Are you insane? No! Why the hell would you think I would ever agree to that?"

"I knew you wouldn't. So I thought about it... And I'm not giving you a choice."

"Excuse you?"

"You see... You either do what I say, or you lose your record deal and your precious mercy."

"How dare you threaten me!" he looked like he wanted to hit her. She came towards him and stared him in the face.

"If you don't I'll tell your wife that you cheated on her. Then I'll tell my father you forced yourself on me. How's that sound Sammy?"

Future Sam stood there with a shocked look on his face. "No one will believe you. ... Not even mercy." he said almost silently.

"Oh I have proof. And I'll send you the pics in your email." she smiled against his skin.

"If you do this... You'll destroy my career and my… my marriage." he said desperately.

She just laughed and said, "Well I guess you better make the right choice then."

As she walking out she yelled "you have one week... Then I demand an answer." she slammed his door shut.

Future Sam ran over to the living room flipping over the small lazy boy, and then the coffee table. Then he threw the remote and smashed it into the window. After he was done tearing up basically the whole living room he slumped down to the floor, picking up a frame. Present Sam was behind him as he admired the photo. It was their wedding picture. He took it out of the frame and rubbing over it lightly with his fingers. Out of nowhere he started to sob. "Mercy... Baby, I'm so sorry." he said to the picture.

"I'm doing this for you... For us." he held the picture against his heart and cried loudly.

* * *

That's when Sam woke up and felt his own tears forming on his face. He scrunched up in the fetal position and then replayed her voicemail, putting it next to his ear and listening to it all night long.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I was going to update this yesterday but after those pics of scruffy chord came out I died… but I'm okay now. Oh like always if you don't like how this plays out just tell me.**

**P.s. did I mention next chapter will be the last? :(**

Sam was having the greatest week of his existence. Yeah that's saying a lot but for Sam it was proving to be true. Firstly, after that horrible dream he had last week, the dreams seemed to stop. No longer did he dream about Mercedes, Emma, being married or otherwise, and honestly Sam felt relieved. Like a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Besides, Sam had the present to worry about. Because, after his and Mercedes hallway rendezvous, they had a conversation about their relationship. They both admitted they wanted to take it slow, so Mercedes suggested no telling the glee club or anybody else and no labels. Sam didn't like the idea because he wanted to flaunt her around and show everyone just how lucky he was, but he agreed anyway. They also both agreed that they wanted to tell their parents. Mercedes never lied to her parents, neither did Sam, so Sam went over to her house that weekend and Mercedes introduced him to her parents. Sam only met them once or twice at parent teacher conferences but they never really engaged until last Saturday. Sam shuddered at the memory of the conversation he had with her father.

_Mercedes opened the door and saw him standing there in a nice black long sleeve shirt and black pants that could pass for dressy if you didn't look at them too hard. She hugged his neck and Sam brought her close to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. He loved when she hugged him because she smelled so good and Sam could never get enough of the mixture of scents she wore.  
She kissed him chastely and then whispered in his ear, "you look great"_

_"not as good as you." he replied effortlessly. It was so easy to compliment his woman, one because she always looked stunning and two because she never fished for it. Quinn would always fish for compliments when they dated. Saying things like "don't I look good, and aren't I beautiful?" Sam personally hated when she did that. It was like she didn't love herself enough to know that she was incredibly beautiful without even trying. Mercedes was different, she owned her sexiness and her body and if he were being honest, it made Sam want her even more. Sam was starting to love the feeling of contentment with Mercedes. She was just everything he wanted, had and needed._

_Mercedes took his hand and brought him into the kitchen. Her mom was bending over near the oven and Sam could smell she was making something delicious. Her dad was at the table with a book in his hand and his glasses half on his face reading intently._

_"Mama, daddy." Mercedes said, getting their attention._

_Her father looked up at her and her mom closed the oven and turned around. They both stared at Sam like he was transparent._

_"Mamma... Daddy this is Sam. And we are... Dating." Mercedes figured it would be best to just rip the band aid off. Her parents always hated when she talked around a subject._

_Angela Jones came up to the couple and wiped her hands on her apron before giving Sam the tightest hug that he ever gotten._

_"So you're the boy who took my baby to prom?" she asked with a smile._

_"Yes ma'am. That would be me. Sam, I am..." she laughed at him and then hugged him again._

_"Our mercy hasn't stopped talking about you since then!" her mom admitted. Sam looked down to Mercedes and she was blushing while looking away._

_"Mama..." Mercedes whined. She couldn't believe her mom just admitted that in front of Sam._

_"Oh please mercy! Don't act like it's not the truth..."_

_"Mom! Can we please, talk about anything else...?" Mercedes pleaded_

_Mercedes' mom motioned Sam to sit at the table and Mercedes sat next to him. Sam looked across from her father and noticed he hadn't said one word to him since Mercedes introduced him. He just looked up from his book and saw Sam and then went back to reading. When he finally spoke it wasn't to Sam. "Annie honey is the food almost ready? I'm gettin hungry."_

_Angela went over to him and kissed his head. "Almost sweetheart, almost."_

_He buried his face in his book once more and that's when Mercedes spoke up._

_"Daddy... Aren't you gonna say hi to Sam?" Mercedes didn't mean for it to come out the way it did but when she said it, it sounded kinda nasty._

_Her father looked up from his book and stared into Sam's eyes, before looking back at Mercedes then ultimately looking back into his book._

_Mercedes was now feeling the anger stirring inside of her. Sam came into her house with absolutely no disrespect and all her father was showing him was the cold shoulder._

_"DADDY! What is wrong with you? Why won't you talk to Sam? Or at least say hello?" Mercedes was screaming at him. Sam took her hand trying to calm her and said, "Mercedes its ok..."_

_"NO Sam! It isn't!" a very vehement Mercedes threw her napkin on her plate and stormed upstairs. Angela turned off the stove and gave her husband a look before running up after her. Leaving Sam and Mercedes' father alone at the table._

_Sam tapped his hands against the table and that's when her father looked up at him._

_"Your name it's, Samuel... Right?"_

_"Yes sir, but you can call me Sam." he smiled and thought that maybe they were finally getting somewhere._

_"No. I'll be calling you Samuel." her father took his book and closed it, and took of his glasses and put them on the table._

_"Sir... If I may say something..." Sam started. But he was cut off by her father._

_"No. You don't need to say anything. You're gonna sit there and just listen, Cause I'm gonna make this short and sweet. Understood?" Sam nodded accordingly and waited for him to continue._

_"I don't like you." he stated bluntly. Sam opened his mouth again but her father cut him off once more._

_"Before you say anything, no... It has nothing to do with your race, or the fact that you have the biggest lips I have ever seen on a child of your race. I don't like you simply, because I know my baby is too good for you."_

_"I don't refute that sir, but..."_

_"But nothing. I don't like you Samuel. But my daughter does. And that's all that matters. All you teenage boys are the same... heartbreakers. But understand this, you will not break my child's heart, and if I find out you hurt her in any way, shape or form..."_

_"Let me guess, you'll come after me right?" Sam said smiling, trying to lighten the mood._

_"Who said it had to be me?" her father stood up and was ready to leave, taking his book and glasses. He turned to Sam to say one last thing._

_"I'm not a believer in running the guys my baby dates away... No matter how bad I wanted to kill Noah. But you listen to me, Mercedes is going places. All the way to the top... And I don't want anything deterring her from her dreams. Even you, so do we understand each other Samuel?"_

_"Loud and clear Mr. Jones. But you should know I would never in any situation have mercy choose me over her aspirations. She's too amazing for me to let that happen."_

_"Good." Mercedes' father left the kitchen, leaving Sam there all alone_.

The rest of that night was a blur in the back of Sam's mind. He did remember eating great food and Mercedes giving him a ride back to his motel, then her kissing him in a way that Sam could swear he felt all the way down in his toes. But the rest faded in the background, the fact was he met her family. Except her brother and Mercedes told him that she wanted to hold off their meeting for as long as possible. Luckily for Sam the day Mercedes met his parents was way better than the dinner with the Joneses.

* * *

_"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Sam asked her._

_"Yeah. I Am, besides it's gotta be better than the night you met my parents right?"_

_"Yeah... I guess you're right."_

_He kissed the outside of her hand and then they interlocked fingers and walked into his motel room. It was the one moment throughout the week that Sam knew all of his family members would be at home. He opened the door and walked her to the kitchenette where they were all listening to Sam's dad play his guitar._

_"Hey everyone!" Sam said to them all. His dad stopped playing the guitar and hugged Sam. Mercedes stood there as they embraced and smiled. She loved that they loved each other so much, despite everything that was going on. Stacy noticing Mercedes runs over and hugs her leg._

_"Cede! Cede! What are you doing here?" she asked while looking up at her._

_Sam's mother Mary came over to Mercedes and practically peeled Stacy off of her before asking, "Sam... What is she doing here?"_

_Sam and his dad released and Sam went over and grabbed Mercedes' hand again. "I have an announcement to make and I wanted you all here so I could tell you all at once."_

_"What is it Sammy?" Stevie asked_

_"Mercedes and I... We are dating... And I wanted you all to know."_

_Mercedes smiled as Sam kissed her hand in front of his siblings and parents. His father looked at the both of them with a stern face before getting up and standing right in front of them._

_He stared at Sam for what seemed like forever before saying; "well it's about time!" he grabbed them both and hugged them together. The kids ran over to them and crowded around their legs and hugged them too. Sam's mom clapped her hands lightly before telling them both congratulations._

_The night went on and the Evan's family welcomed Mercedes liked they known her for years. Mercedes only wished that her father could've returned the same compassion that his family gave her. They played games; Sam and his dad busted out the guitar again and sung some old rock and country songs. Then it was time to go, and Sam drove her home. Then there were the kisses again. Those damn toe curling kisses that she didn't even know she did to him. Their connection was something else; it was out of this world amazing. And Sam was sure, now more than ever that he never wanted whatever he was feeling was to end._

He remembered having a conversation with his mom that same night about Mercedes.

_"So... You and Mercedes..." his mom fished while cleaning some dishes._

_"Yep. Look mom; before you start on her just hear me out..." Sam knew his mom was about to give him 'the talk' the same talk she had given him about Quinn. His mom liked Quinn a lot, but she told Sam not to fall too hard for her, stupidly Sam did and now all he lived with was regrets. But Mercedes wasn't Quinn and he needed her to know that._

_His mom cut him off and simply said, "You be good to her Sam. Alright?"_

_Sam was shocked that she didn't go into her usual expertly thought out drabble that normally took up 30 minutes of his life. It was just one line, one simple line._  
_Sam smiled and nodded. "Yes mom." he replied. She came over and kissed his blonde head before going to bed._

* * *

On Monday, Sam hadn't seen his lady all day. In the morning they exchanged cute and flirty texts but reality seemed to set in for Sam when he realized that they were a secret. He couldn't kiss her in the hallway or hold her hand between classes. But it's the way she wanted it to be, and Sam had to be ok with that. Now it was time for history class and Sam metaphorical threw his fist in the air because he knew he would finally be able to at least see her. Mercedes sat down two seats across from him and then class started. Sam wasn't paying any attention to the teacher whatsoever because he was too busy staring at Mercedes. Mercedes looked over at him, noticing he was staring. She shook her head, smiled and then secretly took out her phone.

Sam noticed she was texting and that's when his phone buzzed.

**Future wife:**why are you staring at me?

He quickly texted her back and said,

**Sam:**because you're the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. He looked up to see her blushing and smiling wide as she texted back.

**Future wife:**you are so corny sometimes, you know that?

**Sam:**yeah... But you like it ;).

**Future wife:** maybe I do...  
**  
Sam:**I guarantee you do... I... I miss you. He looked up at her after he texted that and she looked back at him and smiled before rolling her eyes and replying,

**Future wife:**we saw each other on Saturday... What is there to miss?

Sam eyes quirked up and as he prepared his response.

**Sam:** let's see, your beautiful eyes, those beautiful _beyond _kissable lips, your beautiful body, that beautiful round... backside ;)

Mercedes put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. The teacher noticed this and asked, "Miss Jones is everything alright?"

"Yes Mrs. Warren. Everything's fine." the teacher went back to the lesson and Mercedes finally texted back.  
**  
Future wife:** Sam Evans, you are absolutely crazy.  
**  
Sam:**crazy about you...

Mercedes looked up once more and saw him giving her his signature crooked smile. She flipped her hair and smiled back. Then she sent him one last text before closing her phone.

**Future wife:**I feel the same way ;)... see you in glee club. Xoxoxo.

Sam knew now that his day wasn't gonna be so bad. _'Nope not bad at all' _Sam thought.

* * *

Upon hearing of Sue's sister death all of the glee club banned together for her funeral. Mercedes didn't know why but funerals made her particularly sad. Sam noticed this throughout the whole ceremony and especially after the song they all sang together. Sam wanted to just wrap his arms around her in front of everyone and hold her until she no longer felt any pain, and knowing that he couldn't, made him angry. After the funeral was over Sam, Quinn, Tina and Mike were all standing outside. Tina said she had to go and mike and her ran off, leaving Sam there with a very distraught Quinn.

"Quinn you okay?" Sam asked. She looked hurt, sad and angry all at once.

"Why? You don't care! Nobody does." she spat.

"Quinn what's wrong? Why are you so angry?"

"Because of boys like you and Finn!" she yelled at him.

"I'm not following... How are Finn and I similar?"

"You both have a nag for making me fall for you then breaking my heart that's how!" she pushed him back away from her, and then she started crying right there near the side of the church. Sam came back up to her and wrapped his arms away around her. Quinn cried into his chest.

"He broke up with me! I can't believe he broke up with me!" she sobbed to Sam.

Mercedes came out of the funeral with Kurt. She stood there watching Sam hug Quinn tight as she laid her head against his chest. What she was feeling came suddenly, without warning. The big green monster was rearing its ugly head: jealously. She loved Quinn and she knew she would never hurt her, but Quinn didn't know about her and Sam... _Whatever they were_. As far as anybody knew Sam was a free man. Mercedes cursed herself for wanting to keep them private, but she was doing it for both their benefit. At least that's what she kept telling herself before she went to sleep at night.

"It was only a matter of time..." Kurt said

"what are you talking about?" Mercedes asked not taking her eyes off of Sam and Quinn.

"Before those two got back together. Finn told me he was gonna break up with her because he's totally in love with Rachel its pathetic, but I had no idea that she would run to Sam that fast. I thought she'd at least give it a week or two." Kurt shrugged his shoulders and then grabbed Mercedes' arm. When she didn't budge Kurt said,

"Diva..." he called to her.

"Yeah?" she said finally taking her eyes off of the scene in front of her.

"You coming?" Kurt asked.

"Oh yeah... Yeah I am." Mercedes and Kurt walked pass Quinn and Sam and Sam looked up and quickly saw Mercedes' expression. He released Quinn and then called out to her.

"Mercedes!" Sam yelled.

Mercedes and Kurt turned around and saw Sam and Quinn catching up to them.

"Sam... Quinn, can I help you?" Mercedes said nonchalantly.

"Well Finn left me here, and I was hoping you could give me a ride?" Quinn said.

"Sure Q! Of course." Mercedes smiled at her.

"Uhmm... Can you give me one two? My dad has to work so he left with the car." Sam said.

"Sure Sam. Why not." she said so dryly that dust could've came out her mouth.

Sam smiled at her but Mercedes wasn't meeting his gaze. Quinn looked at Sam then Mercedes and wondered what the hell was going on.

"Well... I called shotgun for life in mercy's car so you both are just gonna have to deal with it." Kurt said.

Quinn and Mercedes laughed and then locked arms as they walked to the car. They all got in, Kurt in the passenger seat, and Sam and Quinn in the back. Mercedes dropped off Kurt first and then Sam got out of the car and to take shotgun. They drove in utter silence before Sam made his move to hold her hand while she was driving. She subtlety yanked it away hoping Quinn didn't see his gesture. Sam fell back against his seat in anger and looked out the window. Silence crept between them once more before Quinn said something.

"You guys wanna tell me what's going on between you two?" she asked.

Mercedes looked in her mirror at Quinn and answered "nothing is going on between us, nothing at all."

Sam scoffed hard and mumbled something under his breath. Mercedes noticed and asked, "What was that Sam? Did you say something?"

At that Sam sat up in his seat and looked her in the face. "Yeah I said what is your problem?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me! What is your problem? Why are you being so cold to me?"

"Sam I have no idea what you're talking about, so just drop it okay?" she said motioning to him that Quinn was still in the car.

"I don't care if Quinn knows! I don't care who knows! I want to know why you're being so distant. What did I do?"

"Umm... Guys" Quinn tried to interject but was cut off by Mercedes.

"Nothing Sam! Everything is fine. You did nothing."

"Guys..." Quinn tried again.

"This is about me hugging Quinn isn't it? Jesus Mercy it was a hug!"

"It's not about that Sam! Just drop it!"

"_GUYS!"_Quinn now yelled. The car stopped in front of Quinn's house.

"What?" they yelled in unison.

"This is my stop." she smiled and hopped out of the car. She wanted no part in the rest of that conversation. Even if they were fighting because of her. Quinn couldn't handle anymore drama today.

Mercedes began driving again and then stopped once they reached Sam's motel.  
Sam unbuckled his seat belt and then said, "Babe, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who got jealous for nothing. I mean it was just a hug and here I am thinking all kinds of crazy scenarios."

" I'm sorry for yelling at you. Quinn was sad cause Finn and her broke up, and I was just trying to comfort her."

"I know that now and I'm sorry for being so cold to you. I guess I'm not as secure with myself as I initially thought." she laughed a little and then put her head down.

"Hey... We all have our moments." he took his hand and put it to her chin bringing her face up to his.

"Yeah right... Like you would ever have a reason to be jealous"

"are you kidding me?" Sam laughed. "Every time Artie looks at you nowadays I want to go all hulk on him and pick him up by the wheelchair while saying "_Mercy mine! Sam smash_!"

Mercedes let out a huge bout out laughter and Sam laughed too.

"You're crazy..." she reiterated her words from earlier. Sam moved closer to her so that their lips were grazing. Whispering In her mouth he said, "Like I said... I'm crazy about you." he kissed her two times chastely, before pulling away.

"Oh no you don't Evans!" she grabbed his shirt with both hands and pulled him in for a passionate tongue kiss. Sam put his big hands on her cheeks and returned her kiss with as much passion as she was giving him. They parted slightly coming up for air before kissing again. His tongue practically devoured hers and she didn't mind it at all. He kissed her until all of her watermelon lips gloss was off of her beautiful lips. After they were done they just sat they breathing in each other's breath.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" Sam said in a very low voice. He couldn't even open his eyes yet, this woman had him under her spell.

"I think I might have some clues..." she kissed him again before telling him to go. He got out of the car and kissed her through the window before she jetted off. _'No... Sam, she doesn't have any clue the full extent of what she does to you_." he said to himself smiling.

* * *

Sam got in late and went straight to the couch. He was so happy and content with his life right now that nothing could rain on his parade. Mercedes was his, he had a family that loved him and friends that he hoped would be in his life forever. So what, he was homeless. That seemed like a distance factoid to Sam now, Mercedes didn't care, she wanted him for who he was and she will never know just how much that means to him. Sam closed his eyes not worrying about any dreams since he stopped having them anyway. Soon enough Sam was in a deep, comfortable sleep.

Sam woke up surrounded by those damn white sheets and he started to panic. For a whole week he hadn't been having any dreams whatsoever and now he was, which only meant more drama.

He looked over to Mercedes, who was still sleeping in the bed. And Sam was thankful that at least it wasn't an Emma dream. She started to stir and then she turned over and looked into his eyes.

"Hey beautiful..." he said. She didn't answer she just got up from the bed and picked her dress up off the floor. She began to get dressed and Sam was wondering where she was going.

"Where you going?" he asked grabbing her hand and pulling her back down on the bed.

"Sam... Stop." she pushed herself off of him and tried to yank her hand away.

"Stop? Why do I have to stop...? All's I'm doing is kissing my beautiful wife." he kissed on her neck and down to her collarbone and that's when Mercedes pushed him off of her hard.

"I'm not your wife Sam." she looked around the room for her heels. She found one in the hamper and the other was nowhere to be found.

"What do you mean you're not my wife? We're married after all." _what the hell was she saying? Not his wife?_Sam thought.

"I mean I'm not you're wife. At least not anymore. Come on Sam... Don't you remember? We signed those beautiful divorce papers a year and a half ago." Mercedes finally found her other shoe. She went over to the bed to put them on.

Sam was shocked by what he heard. In the end they got a divorce. He was disappointed in his future self for not fighting for her. But that still didn't explain how they ended up in bed together.

"so if were divorced, why did you wake up in my bed?"

"Well I see someone doesn't remember calling me, saying that _'there's no one to spend my birthday with mercy... Please come spend my birthday with me_."

"So you came? Why?"

"Because it was your birthday and you sounded lonely. I found you lying on the couch with glass of scotch in your hand. It took four cups of coffee and three bottles of water before you were ok again... You don't remember this?"

Sam shook his head. Mercedes shrugged and said, "Figures..." she finished putting her shoes on and then began looking for her necklace. Thankfully it was right on the night stand.

"Did we... Did we umm..." Sam began.

"Did we fuck? Have sex? Bump uglies?" she laughed.

Sam nodded. "Yes Sam. We did. Only because you kept telling me that the only thing you wanted for your birthday was me. So I figured what the hell... I haven't had sex in almost three years, and as much as I hate to admit it, you're still the best sex I ever had."

She was struggling to get her necklace all the way on; Sam crawled over to her and hooked it for her. His hands lingered on her shoulders before moving away.

"Well I have to be at the studio in an hour. So I guess I'll see you around?" she smiled simply.

"Mercedes, I'm sorry." Sam said.

"For what?" she laughed.

"For hurting you. Turning you into this..."

"Turning me into what?" she asked with a growing attitude.

"You look like you're devoid of any emotion, like you care about nothing. And I know, it's my fault."

"Sam who the hell do you think you are? You have no right to judge who I am. You lost any right to speak about me when you cheated on me with Emma."

"I'm sorry. That's all I can say, I'm sorry."

"Whatever Sam, you're a day late and about two years short on that apology." She turned to walk out of the door when Sam pulled her around back towards him and said, "_Please don't go..."_

* * *

Sam woke up and immediately dialed her number. It was 2am but he didn't care. He wanted to hear her voice. She answered groggily and said "Sam? Is there something wrong?"

"No there isn't... It's just; I had a bad dream that's all..."

"Aww poor baby. Well I'm here if you need Me." silence crept between them before she said, "What _do _you need Sam?"

"I just... I just need you to stay with me. Can you do that mercy? Can you stay with me?"

"Always Sammy." she says. "_Always."_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: final chapter time… I wanted to end this the way I does, cause I wanted to do a sequel soon… but idk. Also thank you for the reviews and alerts and all that ish, you guys are all kinds of awesome (drunk Rachel voice) anyway chapter 10…**

Mercedes was having a pretty bad week. It was only three days until nationals. They had no songs to sing thanks to Sue's scheming, and Mercedes knew that the whole "original song" idea would leave her only belting out the final glory note at the end of the group song. Mercedes didn't mind it; cause she wanted to win, but that didn't mean she didn't reserve the right to be mad as hell when she wanted to. Truthfully what was really bumming her out was Sam. They were having a great time together, but sometimes they clashed. Times like in glee club when he visibly noticed she was upset about nationals, she confided in him and he told her he understood, but he felt like she wasn't being a team player. Mercedes was angry. She argued that for two years all she did was be a team player. That she was tired of playing second fiddle to Rachel's bullshit. Sam finally saw her point and tried to end their spat with a kiss outside of his locker. This only lead to another arguement about them wanted to keep things quiet... Well more like _Mercedes_ wanting to keep things quiet and Sam asking her if she was ashamed to be with him. Mercedes laid down in her bed thinking over their little disagreement in front of his locker.

_"So why can't I kiss you?" Sam asked. "There's no one in the hallway right now... And my lips are begging to be on yours."_

_He smiled and moved closer to her, hovering over her like he usually does, leaning his disgustingly beautiful body towards her short frame. Mercedes proceeds to back him away from her with her hand giving her signature hell-to-the-no face. Sam gets frustrated and slams his locker then walks away. Mercedes tries to keep up with him, but damnit white boy could move!_

_"Sam wait!" Mercedes called out to him. He stopped right before he passed miss Pillsbury's office and then turned around to look at her._

_"Sammy... Please, you need to understand that I want to kiss you, I do... But you never know who's in the hallways, I don't want rumors to start up about us, cause we are… you know keeping a low profile? We've been through this Sam." she took his hand and held on it tight. She could tell he was angry but she needed him to understand she was only doing it for his benefit. The rumors people would create about them, his popularity (as fleeting as it was) she was doing it because she cared._

_"I know we talked about it, it just makes me angry. That I can't kiss you whenever I want, or hold your hand, and sit next to you, anything. Can you understand that?"_

_Mercedes shook her head yes. He moved her in closer and traced her jawline with his thumb. Mercedes could tell he was trying to be reckless, and for once she didn't care. She moved closer and he hovered, their lips ready to touch when miss Pillsbury came out of her office. She smiled at them with gloves on her hands and then went down the hallway in the opposite direction._

_Sam smiled at her, while Mercedes shook her head and mouthed "crazy" to him. He moved back in for the kiss, but kids started to come into the hall and Mercedes pulled away. She saw Sam's face and once again he was not happy. "Sam..." she said almost silently. "Can we talk later?"_

_"I have to work. See you in glee club." says Sam before walking away in a huff._

Mercedes hated the way she made him feel. But she just kept telling herself it was all for him. I mean it was, wasn't it?

* * *

Mercedes' week wasn't getting any better when she saw Sam and a cheerio in the hallway. She hid next to the locker as the busty brunette who everybody called '_Candy'_ talked to her man. Mercedes was sure her real name wasn't as sweet, but for some reason her real name was blanking in her mind right now.

"Hey Sam." candy said.

"Umm.. Hey... Umm you." Sam had no idea what this girls name was.

"So, summer almost starting, I'm gonna be spending a lot of time at the beach... In a bikini..." she said motioning to her breasts. Sam stared at them for a second and in his mind he kept saying _'not as good as Mercedes'… if only she let me touch just one!'_

"Yeah, that's great." Sam took two books out of his locker and then opened his cherry chap stick to reapply.

Candy just laughed as if he said something funny.

"So. Listen Sam; I wanted to know if you had any plans for next Saturday? The cheerios and the football guys are all getting together and having an end of the year bash. Tell me you're free?"

"I don't know... I might have to work or other things... I guess I'll see?"

Candy smiled and moved towards him and put her hand on his arm squeezing it a little before letting go.

"I _definitely_ hope to see you there." she winked at him before sauntering off in the hallway.

Sam watched her go for a second then went back to looking in his locker. Mercedes watched the whole thing and felt like she could literally die right there. She always thought Rachel was being her usual over dramatic self when she complained about the cheerios all over Finn. Now she saw first hand what it was like. And it sucked even more that in candy's eyes, she wasn't doing anything wrong. Sam was a hot guy, who didn't have any attachments. Mercedes just needed to get out of there as fast as she could, without Sam seeing her. But her legs felt like they were stuck to the floor by nails. Sam closed his locker and Mercedes's inner voice was saying _"move dumbass, move_!" but she couldn't. Something was just keeping her there. Sam walked down the hallway in her direction and Mercedes had an idea. She would take her funky hat she was wearing and pull it down to her eyes. '_Brilliant_' she says to herself. She does it quickly as Sam walks pass. She was breathing a sigh of relief when he didn't notice her. She pulled her hat back up, and that's when Sam started walking backwards until he stopped right in front of her.

"Hey cedes.. Whatcha doing?" he asked coyly.

"Hey you!" she slapped his chest playfully and then smiled, hoping he didn't notice any other emotions stirring inside of her.

"Why are you standing here, all incognito- James bond-esque by the lockers?"

"Oh I was... I was just umm..." she began. She was trying to form a sentence but her conscience kept yelling, "_I was just watching you flirt with another girl you jackass!"_

"You were just...?" he asked.

"I was walking to class and then I stopped and noticed you talking to candy." diva jones was popping up. And there was nothing Mercedes could do to stop her.

"Who?" Sam tried to think... _'Candy... Candy... CANDY?"_

"Candy... The cheerio?" Mercedes says.

"Oh yeah, she was just inviting me to some party or was it the beach? I wasn't really listening." Sam shrugged his shoulders and then extended his arm to rest on the wall above her. Sometimes Mercedes hated that he was so damn tall.

"It looked like you were listening... it seemed like you were listening real well." she crossed her arms in front of herself and Sam could tell he was in for another battle of words with his mercy.

"I don't know what your talking about, but I can see what you are doing and I'm not falling for it mercy. Not this time." Sam began to walk away and that's when the diva jones followed him, all the way to the boy's bathroom.

"Mercedes what the hell?" Sam screamed when she came busting through the door.

"I'm not gonna be in here for long, I will leave as soon as you admit that you are interested in other girls..."

Sam zipped up his pants and then went to the sink. He washed his hands and then repeated what he said before. "I'm not doing this with you. I'm not gonna argue with you because you are paranoid!"

"Oh hell to the no! You did not just call me paranoid!" Mercedes screamed.

"Yes. I believe I did... If you didn't hear me I'll say it again: you. Are. Paranoid."

He dried his hands and then turned around to face her. Whether he wanted to or not this battle was happening. And it looks like he just won round 1.

"I'm not paranoid. I'm realistic Samuel. And realistically you dated girls like candy before and you had no problem with her touching your bicep or watching her walk away!" Sam swallowed hard; yep Mercedes wins round 2...

"I know usually I go for girls like Quinn or candy but, I want you to understand that at the end of the day, I'm not thinking about any Quinn's or candy's. You're the one I want. You're the one I think about. You are the one I dream about..." (The last one he meant literally, but Mercedes didn't need to know that.) Sam's eyes softened as he stared at her and so did Mercedes'. _Damn him_. He won round 3.

"Sam... It's just hard for me. Seeing you with all these girls all over you. It makes me want to pull a hoes weave out." Sam smiled and pulled her in for a hug.

"You know... It wouldn't be any girls near me if we just let people know we are together." he says to her forehead.

Mercedes pushes him away and says, "I'm not having this conversation with you again. You think just because you claim me, that means girls won't still crawl all over you like cats in heat? Please Sam. Get real." she pursed her lips at him and Sam knew they were in for another round.

"Claim you? Is that what you think I want? To claim you? You're not a possession Mercedes. And maybe girls would still come after me! So what!" he started yelling.

"So what? So what? So you wouldn't care if we were together out in the open and girls still rudely chased after you? Is that what you're telling me?"

Sam shrugged his shoulder and said, "I don't see what the big deal is. It's just harmless flirting..."

"Your an ass." Mercedes stated simply. She gave him a "fuck you' look and began for the door. Sam grabbed her arm before she could go.

"I don't understand what I said wrong!" Sam said to her back. Mercedes turned around and looked at him. "That's just it. You don't understand. And maybe you never will. You wanna know why I don't want anyone to know about us Sam? Take a look in the mirror." she pulled her arm away from him hard and then left.

* * *

Mercedes boarded the plane to nationals. She was thanking her lucky stars that her seat was window seat, next to her soul sister Quinn. Quinn delightely embraced her and they both sat down next to each other.

Sam was on the other side of the plane next to mike. But he wouldn't take his eyes off Mercedes. It has been two whole days since they talked, she wouldn't even respond to his calls or text messages. Mike noticed him looking at Quinn and Mercedes laugh together, he shook his head and said,

"Stare any harder and you'll burn a whole through her clothes."

Sam turned to Mike and asked, "what? Who are you talking about?"

"Quinn. I see you looking at her, damn man I thought for sure you guys were over for good. I owe Tina 10 bucks." Mike said, then put his headphones in and closed his eyes. Sam shook his head, he wasn't looking at Quinn. And one day, after he marries Mercedes (the right way) he would call Mike and tell him that.

Mercedes laughed as Quinn sang _Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood._ Her voice was so different then Carrie's but they were playing the 'emotions' game and Quinn was winning.

"Ok your turn!" Quinn yelped. "Let's see... A song where... You are falling in love but you are unsure about your feelings."

"Really Quinn?" Mercedes huffed. "I gave you heartbreak... You go and give me heartburn." they both laugh and Quinn hits her leg and tells her to do it.

Mercedes exhaled and sung the only song that came to her mind. Quietly she sang _Whitney Houston's How Will I Know._ Quinn swayed and moved her hands, loving the sound of her voice. In the moments of singing Mercedes felt like crying. Sam never admitted to loving her, and she didn't know if she loved him yet, but dammit if the song wasn't hitting home. She finished up and Quinn claps, along with Finn, and Artie who was sitting directly behind them. And Sam who heard her despite the loud noises in the plane. Quinn and Mercedes look over to him and then Sam and Mercedes' eyes quickly connect. Mercedes looks away fast, trying to avoid his melting green cores. Quinn looks at Mercedes, then back at Sam. She had no idea what was going on but even she could feel the tension from both sides of coach. She reaches for Mercedes, grabbing her hand and holding it tight.

"Mercy... Can I ask you something?" Quinn says.

"Anything."

"You wanna tell me why Sam has not stopped looking over here since we boarded the plane?"

Mercedes just shrugged. "He's probably looking at you." she said to Quinn.

"No. We both know he's not... What's going on, are you two… Like Together?"

"Like I said last week, no we aren't."

"Mercedes... It's me. I know we haven't been that close since I moved out, but remember? We used to come home together then just let whatever we were feeling out. We told each other everything, why does that change now?"

"Because, Sam... It's Sam, Quinn. Your ex- Sam."

"Ex being the particular word here. I care about him, but not like that. I will always regret what I did to him, but I know now, that it just wasn't meant to be." Quinn hugged her close to her body and Mercedes' head fell on her shoulder.

"So... Wanna tell me what going on?" Quinn asked. She looked around and practically everyone had fallen asleep or had headphones in, including Sam. So Quinn knew whatever she told her no one would hear.

"Where do I start?" Mercedes laughed humorlessly.

"How about at the beginning?"

Mercedes then proceeded to tell Quinn about her and Sam. They're little fights, and their dry spell of non-speaking. Quinn laughed at parts, smiled at others and frowned when she heard they weren't talking.

"You two need to talk Merc." Quinn said after she was done.

"Yeah... I know, but what if I messed up Quinny? What if he wants nothing to do with me? I'm the one who suggested secrecy and _'no labels'_. He probably… no, _he does_ think I'm ashamed of him."

"You know he doesn't. I've seen you in your head so many times mercy, this time you need to stop listening to beautiful brain of yours and figure out, what does she want." Quinn said pointing to her heart.

"_She_ wants her trouty mouth back. As her boyfriend." Mercedes answers holding her hand to her heart.

"Then I think you should tell him... Agreed?"

"Agreed." Mercedes said with a smile.

Quinn smiled and said, "Well... Then, New York here we come!"

* * *

Everyone wanted to kill Rachel and Finn for that little debacle they pulled once the new directions started performing. But they kept pushing and when they were done, Sam couldn't help himself. He ran over to her and gave his woman a bear hug. He didn't care if she was still pissed or not. Luckily for him she smiled and hugged him back. But when they found out they were last place, everyone tried to hold back their tempers. Everyone except Santana of course. She started cursing in Spanish saying something about _'Lima Heights Adjacent'_ and running for Rachel. Everyone tried to hold him her back, and Santana calmed down for the most part, before of course starting back up again. Mr. Shue was trying to calm things down and that's when Mercedes slipped out of the door. Sam noticed this and went after her. She was just outside the room when she noticed him there and she smiled.

"Hey... You're smiling." Sam says.

"I Am." she says back.

"Why? We lost."

"I'm not smiling because we lost. I'm smiling cause I figured out something yesterday."

"Yeah, what's that?" he leaned near the door with his arms crossed, just incase a new battle was brewing.

"I realize that... Our fights are silly. I realize that, you make me laugh more than anyone, that… I can be irrational sometimes and that I missed you more than I ever thought was humanly possible when we weren't speaking... But most importantly... I realized that, I wanna be with you Sam. As your girlfriend and _if_ you will still have me... As my boyfriend?"

Sam stood up and started walking back and forth in front of her. "So let's say... I do agree to this 'proposition'. Will I be able to kiss you in public?"

Mercedes nodded smiling. "Would I be able to.. Hold your hand anywhere I please?" she nodded again.

"Could we tell people about us?"

"Yes Sam... Anyone you want." Sam stopped pacing and stood in front of her rubbing his chin pretending like he was contemplating.

"Sam..." Mercedes said getting frustrated at his silence.

Without a second thought, He pulled her close to him smiling and then laid a big wet kiss to her lips. He released them with a pop and then says, "Mercedes, I never wanted to pressure you into anything. I just wanted to know that there was a possibility of it all. We can do whichever way you want. Secret, no secret I really don't care. All I honestly want is you."

She reached up and hugged his neck.

"Thank you Sammy. Thank you so much." he grabbed her waist tighter and whispered, "You're welcome" into her ear.

She pulled away from him and tugged on his blonde hair, pulling it behind his ear before saying. "I think we should keep it a secret for just a few more days..."

"Why?" he asked.

"There's just something about, having you all to myself that excites me." she pulled him back into her and kissed him sweetly. His hands fell to the wall behind her and he kissed his woman with passion, which he never knew he had before.

She pushed him away and asked, "Agreed?"

Sam couldn't form words, instead he just nodded. Mercedes pulled him in for one more kiss before they entered the drama filled room once more, completely unnoticed.

* * *

Sam agreed to meet his little lady for coffee at the Lima bean cafe. He met her in front of the store and they automatically hugged and joined hands, interlocking fingers. They were reaching the store when Mercedes spotted Kurt and Blaine in the window.

She stopped her movements, unlacing Sam's fingers. He noticed and asked her what was wrong.

"Klaine is in there..." she said to him.

"I'm sorry... Klaine?" he asked confused

"Yes! Kurt plus Blaine equals Klaine."

"AH!... Okay, I don't see the big deal..."

"Look I tell Kurt everything, but he's a blabber mouth. If he thinks anything is going on between us he'll call Tina, who would call Rachel, who would tell Finn.. and so on…So just play it cool ok... Very nonchalant. Good?"

"Umm... Sure?" Sam said smiling.

They walked in and said hi to 'Klaine' and then went to go order some coffee.

"So... We ran into each other in the parking lot? Very subtle Mercy. Very..."

She hit his hard chest and laughed. "Shut up Sam."

"I'm just saying, if they weren't curious before..."

"Oh my god..." Mercedes begins. "Do you think they know?"

"I don't think nobody knows." Sam grabs her hands into his sweetly interlocking their fingers once more.

Sam got home and then his mom left to her job she was late for. Stacy and Stevie were already fed, and in there bed clothes. He tucked them in and then did his nightly routine of showering and texting his beautiful girlfriend goodnight. He was gonna go to the couch but Stevie and Stacy were wide-awake.

"Guys.. It's bed time." Sam said to them.

"Sammy we can't sleep. Can you sleep with us?" says Stevie

Sam doesn't even think about it. He climbs into bed and hugs the two twins by his side.

"Sammy... Could you tell us a story?" Stacy asks.

"I don't really know any stories off the top of my head guys.." Sam says to them.

"Please Sam? Can't you just make one up?"

Sam sighs trying to think of one, but his sighs turn into smiles when he starts his _'story_'.

_"Ok there once was a pauper named Samuel... Who fell for the beautiful queen... Even though it was strictly foreboded. Her name, was Mercedes..."_

* * *

Sam didn't know when he fell asleep but he did and that's when he woke up and saw those white sheets again. His future self wasn't in the bed though. Or the shower. He went all the way downstairs of his huge house and found him with a woman. She was very thin, like a supermodel, she had brown her cascading down her face in curls and she laughed whenever future Sam said something funny. He put his hands on hers many times as he pours them more wine. Present Sam couldn't help but notice how much of a player his future self becomes. He's all but fucking her with words right now. And she's taking it all in, holding on to his hands and arms. Present Sam didn't have time to be disgusted because the doorbell began to ring. Future Sam excused himself from the table and went to answer the door. Unluckily for the player, Mercedes was at the door. She looked distraught and pissed as hell.

"I've been calling you all week Sam! What the hell! I have to come all the way to NYC to talk to you nowadays?"

She didn't bother asking to come in; she sauntered in taking off her leather coat, revealing a dress that had both Sam's licking their lips.

"I've been ignoring you all week, Mercedes. We are divorced, what is there to talk about?" future Sam asked.

Mercedes eyes soften at him and she said simply, "Sam... There are things we need to discuss... Important things.."

"No. There isn't. You made it very clear the only thing you wanted from me was my dick... Two months ago. And now I want nothing more to do with you." he said bluntly.

Mercedes seemed unaffected by his rudeness. She seemed like she needed to get something off of her chest...

"Sammy please, can we just sit and talk..." she moved towards him and grabbed at his shirt. Future Sam hated when she did that. He was jelly when she did that. "I have something to tell you, and its important." she looked into his eyes and he back and hers and in that moment he wanted to give her whatever she wanted.

Before he could answer, the woman from before came into Sam's living room and asked, "Sam.. Is everything ok?"

Mercedes looks at her then back at Sam in disgust. She pushes him back and yells, "So this is why you ignore my phone calls for an entire week? Me, the woman who in your wedding vows, specifically told me you would never love anyone else?"

"Mercy that was ages ago! I'm free to do whatever the fuck I wanna do! It's you who wanted the divorce remember? Well guess what? You got your wish! _WE ARE DIVORCED_!" future Sam yelled,

Mercedes was crying now. Present Sam hadn't seen her cry before. It made him sad.

"I don't even know why I fucking decided to come out here! I fucking hate you Sam Evans and I wish I had never laid eyes on you!" she spat.

"You know what so do I! I hate you too Mercedes. I wish I would've never loved you…So let's do each other a favor and keeps our lives separate from now on!"

"_Fine_!" she yelled.

"_Fine_!" he yelled back. Mercedes got her coat and stormed out the door, slamming it shut. Present Sam goes after her. He sees her in her car, crying her eyes out, holding a picture to her heart.

Sam waits until she moves her hand to see it was a picture of a sonogram. Present Sam's mouth opened wide, he couldn't believe it. Mercedes was pregnant. And Sam was the father, that was what she was probably going to tell him! And now he would never know. Mercedes cried openly, threw the sonogram to the back of the car and then jetted off.

* * *

Sam woke up in a haze of confusion and sadness. If his dreams were true, if they got together exactly how they did now... Then would the future be the same? Would they still split up in college, get back together then get married and divorced? Would Sam be a father without knowing? Would he break Mercedes' heart by cheating on her in the first place? Or was his dreams a sign that he had a chance to do it differently? Did he have a chance to love her the right way? And stay away from crazy women named Emma? Would she still get pregnant in the long run? Most importantly was Sam dreaming to change the future or alter the past?

Sam sighed at all the thoughts and questions whirling around in his head. Yet he had no answers. He looked down at Stacy and Stevie sleeping soundly and decided to turn his brain off. For now the future didn't matter to him, because his present was so much better.

He picked up his phone and dialed the woman who he hoped would be on his mind forever, "_dreams be damned"_ Sam thought.

"Hey sexy..." Mercedes answered after the third ring.

"_Yep…"_ Sam said to himself. _'His present was so much better_."

**The End… I guess. :(.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: ok so... I'm scrapping my sequel idea and I'm just going to keep going. I thought about it and in the end it didn't make sense to do a sequel when there's so much more to tell in this story. **

**Some context before reading: there is a major time jump. If you don't like that, I'm sorry but I want to focus more on their time apart then their summer. **

**P.S.: someone pm'ed me about a disclaimer so I'll give you one now since it's so important:**

**I do not own glee. I cannot imagine someone who owned glee writing fanfiction (but hey maybe they hate the writing as much as we do) anyway on to chapter 11… **

Sam didn't know how to tell her. He didn't know how to tell the only girl he truly cared about that he was leaving. That he would probably never see her again. This beautiful girl, currently lying on his shoulder as they watched a movie in her bedroom. He didn't know how to say _"you've changed my life Mercedes. You are selfless, kind, beautiful, generous, and amazing... But my dad got a job and I'm leaving in 12 days."_ the words were right there yet Sam couldn't form them. The whole summer they spent together, babysitting and watching movies when Sam didn't have to work. They went to the park and the lake down at the quarry, Sam even saved enough money to take her to the carnival. Carnivals were generally free, but he wanted to have money just in case she wanted to play silly games or see him play and win her stuff animals. Which he did, he won her 14 stuffed animals and Mercedes being the selfless person she is gave exactly half of them to Stacy. Stacy was becoming extremely attached to Mercedes. She even told Sam that she wanted him to marry her. Sam just smiled and said '_soon' _to himself. But now here they were, with a huge elephant in the room and Mercedes had no clue of any of it. Sam grabbed her waist to bring her closer to him. That's when he noticed his girl was crying her eyes out. He knew he shouldn't of let her pick the movie this week. But Mercedes was very convincing when it came to things she wanted. Over the summer they began... _"Exploring each other_" and Mercedes, Sam found out, was a very fast learner. What had started out with a simple sex talk about sex and erogenous zones, turned into a lot of making out and second base action. Mercedes even let him touch her boobs. Under the shirt over the bra, but it was still awesome to Sam. It got even worse as Sam started to remember their heavy make out session in the back of her car, where Mercedes decided that she was just gonna sit on his lap and grind herself unsuspectingly into him. Not a good idea since she took to wearing a lot more dresses and that particular one rose up to her waist and Sam could feel her dampness on his jeans through her silky pink panties. That was the day Mercedes found out just how badly she affects Sam. That was the day she felt his little general for the first time. Sam usually intercepts them before Mercedes could notice, but in that particular moment he was too busy holding her breasts in his hands. Mercedes moaned loudly when she felt him grow very hard against her panties. And ever since that day, Mercedes used her feminine wilds to get exactly what she wanted from him. She would use her fingers to touch him everywhere, all the way down to his pants, and then get him all hot and bothered without even touching his dick. This woman was a witch. Sam deduced, he fallen under her spell and now he was hers forever. But Sam wasn't all effeminate; especially when it came to turning the tables. Like the day they were in a heavy make out session in her room. Her parents had gone for the weekend so they were all alone. Before they knew it clothes were actually coming off this time. Sitting on his lap straddled, Mercedes had nothing but a black bra and panties on. The days Sam was coming over she would put her sexy underwear on just in case. That was the day they went farther than they ever had. That was the day Sam found out that Mercedes not only tasted good on the outside, but the inside as well. And that was the day that Sam found out that Mercedes' hand on his penis was way better than his solo flights any day. Mercedes told him she wasn't ready for sex, and Sam respected that. And he wasn't going to push her if she wasn't ready. But that night as he watched her sleeping soundly, Sam realized he was in love with her. The realization came suddenly and this time Sam didn't try to talk himself out of it. He was a man in love, and there was no turning back, not even if he wanted too. But sadly, Sam couldn't tell her that either. He couldn't seem to ever find the right moment... and he was sure laying here, with her crying on his Captain America fitted T shirt didn't seem like the right moment either.

Sam moved her hair out of her face and asked, "Babe... What's wrong?"

"This damn movie is what's wrong!" she said through tears.

"Well every time we watch this movie you cry... Why do you keep picking it if you're just going to cry?" Sam asked holding her chin with his fingers.

"Because... It's the titanic Sam, the best movie ever? Just the way he willingly gave up his life for her... It's just so beautiful."

"Well I'll agree its beautiful love story... But the best movie ever belongs to avatar. This is non-debatable."

Mercedes wiped her tears away and laughed. She moved so that she was lying on his chest and she said, "You are so silly. Everyone knows the titanic beats out everything for best movie. And that sir... is non-debatable."

Sam sits up, interrupting her comfort and says, "We are really doing this... You want to really try and debate with me why titanic is a way better movie than avatar?"

"Oh I really want to do this..." Mercedes said sitting up and crossing her arms in front of her.

"Ok well opening arguments: why is titanic a better movie than avatar?" Sam asked.

"Because it is." Mercedes said in a huff.

"That's not an answer Mercedes. That's like you asking me why is frozen yogurt better than ice cream and me answering because it is." he said mimicking her.

"Whatever Sam. I win." Mercedes turns over to the wall on her side. Sam turns her back towards him and then holds her arms down.

"What are you doing?" Mercedes yelled

"I'm holding you down, until you admit that Avatar is the best movie Of. All. Time." Sam was hovering over her now both his knees on either side of her.

"Humph! You'll just be holding me forever because I ain't never admitting to that." she smiled at him and he proceeded to let her arms go and started to tickle her. Mercedes yelled and laughed for him to stop but he wouldn't. Finally she put her knee to his gut and turns him over so that she was on top holding his hands down on the bed.

"Now that I've got you right where I want you... Say that _titanic _is the best movie of all time!"

Sam laughed and said, "You know I could easily get out of this hold right?"

"Oh I know..." Mercedes began. "But the real question is... Do you want to?" she slowly slides her hands down his arms and reaches down to kiss him. Sam holds onto her waist and deepens the sweet kiss. Mercedes pushes up from him and smiles down at him with her hands on his chest. She notices that Sam wasn't saying anything; he was just looking at her... His face skimming her features ever so sweetly. She asked, "Sammy? Is there something on my face?" she was touching her face, making sure she didn't have any boogers or growing pimples.

Sam laughed and pulled her hands away and simply stated, "I love you." Sam said it before he had a chance to think about the heaviness of it all. He saw her expression and immediately regretted it.

Mercedes looked down at him in shock. If she were being honest, she fallen for Sam the minute he agreed to go on Rachel's prom on a budget with her. That night she and Sam danced and he made her dreams come true. She never thought he would feel the same way. She never even thought he liked her let alone loved her. She was circling around a way to tell him for days because she couldn't hold it in anymore- she loved him. But she couldn't believe he loved her back, most importantly she couldn't believe he said it first.

"Sam..." she said through growing tears.

_"Oh god she's gonna reject you Sam... Good job dumbass. Saying I love you this early? Do u want to end up alone?"_Sam said to himself.

"Sam... I love you too." Mercedes was wiping the tears out of her face as Sam sat up. His smile was wide and his heart was fluttering. Mercedes loved him! He loved her! He pulled her in closer and kissed her salty lips through her tears.

"I love you, Mercedes." he said again through his own tears and Tongue kisses.

"I love you, Sam."

Sam didn't know how it happened. But soon they were both in their undies touching all over each other. Sam was already hard before she took her pj's off. But now he was painfully hard as he was sprawled between her legs and his penis was grinding into her panties. Mercedes was grabbing handfuls of his hair as they kissed and Sam's hands were kneading her boobs. He loved her tits, but he wasn't gonna admit that, in fear of freaking her out. Sam looked into her eyes wordlessly asking her if he could continue. She gave him a nod and that's when her bra came off, followed by Sam's excruciating torture of pulling her panties off very slowly.

He was kissing her neck when she asked, "Sam... Do you have a condom?"

Sam was surprised she asked, he knew they we in for a little playtime, but he never thought it was going to be actual sex.

"Uhh yeah I do... In my wallet... Why?"

"Because... I... I... I want you to be my first." Mercedes stuttered.

"Cedes..." Sam said warningly. Mercedes pulled the cover over herself as Sam laid next to her.

"Are you sure about this? I don't want you doing this just because I said I love you. I will love you always mercy. Even if we never have sex... I don't want you to feel obligated to do this."

"I don't feel obligated to do anything. I'm in love with you Sam... But I've been wanting you to be my first for a while now. I decided it after your little venture down south with your mouth last week." she laughed because Sam was blushing.

"Mercy... I just want you to be sure."

"I am Sam... I Am." she pulled out her hands to him and he slid under the covers. They kissed for a while before Sam got up to get the condom. Mercedes watched him take his boxers off and put the condom on his fully erect penis and then made his way back towards the bed.

Sam laid on top of her admiring her beauty for a second. She smiled at him after he called her beautiful and he said that he loved her once more.

"I love you too Sammy... So what are you waiting for?" she smiled.

Sam sighed, he was having doubts, on top of guilt for not saying what needed to be said, but damnit he wanted her. _Oh how he wanted her..._"Mercy I think we should talk before we go any further. I need to tell-" he wanted so bad to tell her, but he was cut off by her eager little hands on his penis. He let out a loud groan and was thankful her parents weren't home at that point. After a few strokes he pushed her hand away. Mercedes eyes were flashing with desire and Sam felt helpless under her spell. Silently he said, "I'm sorry mercy."

That night he and Mercedes made love. And Sam couldn't have felt guiltier.

* * *

_10 Days_... In 10 days he was leaving and Sam decided not to be a punk anymore. She was gonna hate him forever. They were gonna fight and probably break up. Sam didn't want any of this to happen. Especially not after he took her V card away. She was going to feel abandoned, or worse. _'Time to man up Sam' _he kept saying to himself. He knocked on her front door and Mercedes opened it and pulled him in. Before he got a word in she was kissing him hard, standing on her tip toes. Sam hated that he loved her kisses so much. Her lips were a beautiful and titillating distraction. He hated that he loved her so much.

She was pulling at his shirt, motioning them both to the couch. Like a zombie, Sam let her push him down onto the couch while she sat in his lap, giving him those toe curling kisses again. She took off her shirt quickly and put Sam's large hands on her breasts. Sam had a choice to make, make love or talk. Actually that wasn't a choice to Sam because after Saturday the choice would always be the former when it came to Mercedes. That's why he had to stop. He took his hands off of her breasts and picked her up so that she was sitting beside him.

"Sammy? What's wrong?" she asked

"Put your shirt back on mercy, ummm we gotta talk, and I guarantee after you here what I have to say, you're not going to want to touch me, let alone have sex with me."

Mercedes picked up her shirt from the floor and put it back on. She could see the worried look on his face and that scared her.

"Sam? What is it?"

"I've been trying to figure out a way to tell you, but every time I get the courage, I chicken out."

"Ok now you're scaring me Sam, what's wrong? Is your family ok?"

"They're fine. I'm fine... It's just, my dad he... He got a full time job!" Mercedes breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't something terrible.

"Sam! How is that bad? Your dad got a job that's a good thing..."

"I guess..." _just spit it out Sam..._He kept saying to himself.

"Why were you afraid to tell me that?"

"Because...the job is in... It's in Kentucky. Which means we have to relocate... From Lima."

He looked at her face and it was frozen. She seemed both shocked and saddened by his words.

"Mercy... Say something please." Sam begged. The silence was too much. And she hadn't moved for a good three minutes.

"When... How... How long have you known this?" she asked getting out of her trance.

"My dad told me about week and a half ago." Sam put his head down.

"And when do you leave?"

"10 days..."

"So for almost two weeks you've been holding this in and not once did you think to tell me?" she was yelling now.

"Mercy I'm sorry, I didn't know how to start to tell the girl I'm in love with that I'm leaving forever!"

"You could've found a way you... You dick!" she pushed him and began to walk into her kitchen. He followed her. She didn't mean to call him a nasty name but she was pissed beyond belief right now.

"I'm a dick because I wanted to prolong us for as long as possible? Put yourself in my shoes. I have to move... _Again._ Leave all my friends... _Again_. Leave McKinley, Leave... _You_..." Sam voice was cracking... Apart of him knew she was slipping away, and it was all his fault.

"Don't try to justify not telling me Sam. You are a coward! That's the only reason you didn't want to tell me. You probably thought... Yeah I'll just lie to her and tell her I love her, get what I really want from her and then drive off into the sunset with your parents so you wouldn't have to deal with how this affects me!"

"First of all you are being extremely selfish. Which is not like you at all. Second don't call me a coward or a dick. In fact I would appreciate it if you only referred to me by my name. Lastly we made love; we didn't do it for shits and giggles. We did it... I did it, because I love you!"

"Forget you Sam! You don't love me. You call keeping secrets love? And I'll call you whatever the hell I want! Dick! Dick! Coward! Asshole!" she pushed him away from her hard. He hated when she did that. She knew it would only intensify his anger.

"Are you really mad that I have to leave with my family? It's not even my choice... I'm obligated to go with them." he said stretching his words.

"I'm happy for your family... overjoyed. I'm angry because you decide to tell me 10 days before you leave. If you truly loved me Sam, I would've been the first one to know."

"Mercedes what do I have to do to make this right? I'm sorry for not telling you but I don't want this to be the end of us. I... I love you."

"Can you please just go?" Mercedes was crying, all her mind kept saying was _'he's a liar... Don't trust him... But I love him... What else is he hiding?"_nothing made sense to her right now. Not even her damn emotions.

"Is that what you want? For me to go?"

"Yes... Please just... Get out." Sam looked at her crying eyes for a second. His hands itched to wash away her pain, but he fought against it… it probably would've made her angrier.

Nodding at her he made his way towards the door.

That night Mercedes cried herself to sleep and Sam stayed up in fear of having a dream.

* * *

_5 DAYS..._ 5 days without speaking. No calls, text messages or subliminal Facebook updates from either party. Sam wanted to call her. He really did, after all he was leaving in 5 days and he didn't want to leave with an unresolved relationship. All he wanted to do was apologize, for her to forgive him and then they kiss and make up.  
But that couldn't happen if they weren't speaking. Sam decided throw caution to the wind. He went over to the Joneses and a tall man who wasn't her father opened the door.

"Can I help you?" the tall man asked Sam. Sam couldn't believe there was actually someone in this town taller than Finn Hudson.

"Hi... Is Mercedes home?"

"What you want with my sister?" he crossed his arms in front of him just like Mercedes does.

"Well I'm... I'm her... We are ummm..." _'Damnit Sam... Speak English...why is her brother so damn tall?'_

"You are? Spit it out white boy!"

Just then Mercedes saved Sam from further embarrassment as she made her way downstairs.

"Who's at the door Anthony?" she asked her brother.

"Some white boy looking for you..." Mercedes came all the way down and stood in front of Sam. The situation was awkward seeing as though her brother didn't leave yet.

"What do you want Sam?" she asked with an attitude.

"I want to talk to you... Please?"

"Merc, who is this fool?" Anthony asked

"Oh right I forgot, Sam this is my brother Anthony... Anthony this is Sam. He's my ex-boyfriend."

_'Did she really introduce me as her ex?"_Sam thought.

"If you're her ex... Why the hell you still on my doorstep?"

"Anthony can you please go away so Sam and I can talk?"

"Fine... But if white boy tries anything just holler."

Anthony walks away and Mercedes closes the door in front of her. Not even letting Sam in.

"You wanted to talk so talk." Mercedes said.

"I'm not even invited in?" he asked.

"No... Is this what you want to talk about?"

"No... I... I wanted to talk about us, where we stand and all that..." Sam couldn't believe she was still being so cold to him... He let her simmer for five days for Christ sake!

"Ok... Where do we stand Sam?"

"I don't know." he said scratching the back of his head. "All I know is... I'm still in love with you and whatever happens between us won't change that." Mercedes softened at his confession, her eyes mellowed when she began to talk.

"Sam I still love you too. But I'm still not over the fact that you kept things from me and now I don't trust you." Sam deserved that, why should she trust him? Dammit he should've told her right away... Maybe it would've stung less.

"Besides you have five days left, and then you're gone. Don't you think it would be easier to just end this now? Before things get too messy?" she questioned.

"I can't imagine it being messier than it is right now." Sam laughed trying to break the tension.

"I guess not." she laughed along with him.

"So is that what you want? To just end things between us right now? Do you not even want to try...? I don't know long distance?"

"Now that, would be messy..." she said.

"Yeah... I guess you're right." Sam forced himself to say, even though that was the complete opposite of what he was thinking.

"So..." Mercedes began

"So..." he added.

"I guess this is goodbye?" she asked with a sad smile. Sam wanted to hug her sadness away, but her walls were up and there was nothing he could do to bring them down again. _'All my fault' _Sam thought.

"Yeah... I... I guess it is." silence crept between them as they just stared at each other for a while.

"I wish you all the best in Kentucky Sammy. Your family deserves to be happy." she hugged him and kissed his cheek, lingering on his face for a moment before going back inside. Sam stood there for a moment just looking at her door before leaving a minute later. He just got his heart broken into a million pieces. And damn that woman she own each and every jagged piece.

* * *

Sam didn't remember what happened on the four days before leaving. His glee friends threw him a going away party that Mercedes attended but she hardly spoken to him. His stuff was packed quickly on the third day. On the second day, Sam tried to write a song about how he felt but the lyrics he kept writing were other people's lyrics mixed together on one page. When it was moving day Sam was helping his dad get everything in the truck when his dad spotted her first. He motioned Sam to look and Sam dropped a heavy box he was holding on his foot. He hobbled over to her and smiled when he saw her smiling with a bag gift bag in her hand.

"Whatcha doing here lil' lady?" Sam asked her.

"Do you need to finish helping because I can wait? I just came to give you something."

"No... I think my dad's got it covered, you wanna come with me?"

She nodded and they walked to the park together and sat on the bench. "So what's in the bag?"

Mercedes smiled and said, "Well, since you are leaving I figured I should give you a going away present. Something to remember me by.

_'I'll never forget you...'_Sam's mind said. His mouth actually blurted, "Ok... I'm game what is it?"

"Ok so... Do you remember when Quinn helped us watch Stacy and Stevie before she went off the grid?"

"Yea... We were right here in this park and we snuck off to the benches over there to make out leaving the kids with Quinn." Sam laughed at the memory. Quinn yelled at them both after she found them.

"Yes... And then she caught us and took that picture of us kissing with her IPhone?"

"Yeah! You told me you wanted to keep it so you could tell your grandchildren one day about your first love." that last part stung Sam, knowing that "_her grandchildren_" weren't "_their grandchildren."_

"Yeah well I made a hard copy... And I had it framed in glass, and I want you to have It." she took it out of the bag and handed it to him. The frame was moderate, but exquisite. They looked so happy in the photo. It was the same photo Sam had seen in his dreams. Only this time it was real.

Sam ran his fingers over the glass covered picture then looked up at her and smiled. "Mercy... I... I don't know what to say..."

"You could say thank you?" Mercedes added with a smile.

Sam laughed lightly and said, "thank you Mercedes. You don't know how much this means to me."

"Well you're welcome. I know we aren't together anymore Sam. But I'll never forget you, just promise me you won't forget me?" _damn her for reading my mind_. Sam thought.

Her eyes looked like they were starting to water. Sam slid down the bench towards her so that there was no space between them. His hands reached her face stroking it gently. Mercedes allowed it because she knew it was the last time he'd be doing that.

"Trust me babe... You're one person, I'll never forget." she grinned like the Cheshire cat and he leaned in and laid a peck on her lips. She pulled him in closer tracing his lips and hers and finally kissing him back. They stayed that way, making out on the bench for a good two minutes before Sam's phone started buzzing. He broke the kiss to answer his phone. Mercedes was actually glad the phone rang when it did. Kissing him only brought back feelings she had been trying to bury ever since he told her he was leaving._ 'Be strong Mercedes... It was only a kiss... He's leaving... No more Sam... Oh god realizations..."_ she said to herself.  
Sam got off the phone and stood up taking her with him.

"I gotta go. My dad said everything is ready and they're waiting on me."

She smiled weakly trying to hold back the tears that were begging to come out of her eyes. "It's ok Sam, I understand... Goodbye." Mercedes let go of his hand but he grabbed her once more and gave her a hard kiss. Mercedes should've just walked away, but Sam was like a drug and she was addicted to him. _'I needs to stop watching twilight before bed' _Mercedes thought.

"What was that for?" she asked with her eyes still closed.

"One for the road." he said with a smile. Mercedes finally opened her eyes and that's when Sam let go of her. They looked at each other for a minute not saying a word.

"You should go..." Mercedes said to him. Sam looked at the clock and muttered a curse under his breath. He picked up the bag she gave him with the frame and he kissed her cheek one more time. "You don't know how much I'm going to miss you Cedes..." he said before running off.

Mercedes watched him go, then once he was completely out of sight she sat on the bench and cried her eyes out.

* * *

Sam and his family made it to Kentucky with good time. They unpacked most of their things and by the time they settled in, it was time for dinner and then bed. Sam's mom kept asking him if he was okay, seeing as though Sam hadn't said many words since they left Lima. Sam kept assuring her that he was fine, even though he knew he wasn't. At dinner he hardly ate, then when it was time for bed he plopped down on it and closed his eyes without saying a prayer, or saying goodnight to his family. Right now Sam kept thinking about Mercedes and how he just wanted to be back in Lima with Mercedes. And since he couldn't be with her physically he was hoping to see her in his dreams.

* * *

Sam stood there watching his future self stumble through the door with his old friend Mike. Honestly present Sam had no idea that they were still going to be so close. But he considered mike a great friend and he was glad that in the future they were still tight.

"Oh man... I'm drunk!" future Sam said to Mike Chang.

"Yeah... No kidding. I told Finn not to let you anywhere near your old friend Johnnie Walker." mike was propping him up and they made their way to the couch. Future Sam plopped down on it taking mike with him.

"Well... Hello sailor." Sam said to Mike.  
Mike pushed off of him and said, "Not funny dude... You're lucky it's your birthday or else I would kick your ass."

"Come on! I'm just having a little fun!" Sam sat up and took off his leather coat. He got up and made his way to his bar pouring himself a scotch.

"Do you really think you should be drinking some more?" Mike asked

"Why not! It's my birthday! And I'm single and happy." Sam downed the scotch in one gulp pouring him another.

"Well I'll agree you're single... But I doubt you're happy."

"Why wouldn't I be happy? My album is doing great; my friends are doing great... I'm doing great! What is there not to be happy about?"

"Never mind Sam. Forget I said anything." Mike waved him off getting him some water from the fridge.

"No! Come on say it... Why wouldn't I be happy?"

"Sam just let it go... Ok man?" Mike begged.

"No! I know what you mean... You're talking about my evil ex-wife... Right? Because everyone is still holding on to this illusion that we still have a chance, even though we've been divorced for two years!"

"Everyone? Or you Sam? You spent the entire night talking about her. About your crazy love, and her '_special_' sex gifts she used to give you on your birthday. You did the exact same thing last year! Why can't you just admit you still love Mercedes?"

Present Sam wanted to give mike a high five for his truth bomb he laid on his dumbass future self. If only he could...

"She's a witch... I could never love her again. She took half my money and..." future Sam stopped himself.

"And? Half your heart?" Mike said... "Jesus Sam you've been in love with her since high school. A love like that doesn't just go away."

"Not everyone is you and Tina... Michael. Things don't work out okay? Even if I admitted to still loving her that doesn't mean she still loves me. I fucked up... And now I'm living with it." Sam poured himself another glass and Mike's phone rang. He walked away to answer it and then came back a second later.

"That was Tina... I gotta go. Mike Jr is sick."

"It's ok man... Go."

"Are you sure you are going to be alright?" Mike asked.

"Yep... It will just be me and Mr. Alcohol tonight. Then I'll probably just go to bed." Sam lied.

"Ok man... Listen if you need anything, call me alright?" Sam nodded and Mike left.

Sam poured himself another glass and made his way to the couch. He was looking through his iPhone deciding who to call... Alcohol made for a very funny and horny Sam. Present Sam wished he could punch this dude in the face. He hated that he becomes this douchebag.

Finally deciding to call someone named Wendy, future Sam pressed call and waited for an answer.

"Hello Sam... What do you want?" Mercedes asked.

"Wait... Mercedes? I thought I was calling a Wendy..."

"We'll let me hang up so you can call this Wendy person."

"No wait!" Sam yelled. "How... How are you?"

"I'm okay... But from the slur in your voice I take it as you are drunk?"

"What? Me? No..." Sam laughed and hiccupped.

"The boys took you out drinking for your birthday huh?" Mercedes asked.

"Yeah... Wait you still remember what today is?" a drunk Sam asked.

"Yes I do Sam... Just because were not married anymore doesn't mean I automatically forget your birthday."

"Yeah... Right. Umm so what are you doing?"

"Nothing. It's the first day off I had in a long time..." Mercedes laughed humorlessly.

"Oh... Ummm can I ask you a favor?"

"Really Sam?" she scoffed. _This asshole is asking her for a favor?_"Ok what do you want?"

"There's no one to spend my birthday with Mercedes, can you spend my birthday with me?"  
There was a long silence before she answered.

"Ummm Sam I don't think..."

"Please mercy? I...I miss you." Mercedes knew if Sam wasn't drunk he wouldn't have admitted that so easily.

"Ok! Ok! I'll be over in at least an hour."

Future Sam was overjoyed. He said ok to her casually and then took another drink.

An hour later Mercedes came to his house and found him passed out on the couch with a glass of scotch in his hand. She hit him three times before he got up and complained he had a major headache. She made him four cups of coffee and he drunk three bottles of water before he was ok again. Mercedes lead him up the stairs and they made it to the bedroom.

"Ok drunky... Time for bed." she said to him.

"Ugh... I don't want to sleep mercy I'm fine." Sam argued. That still didn't stop her from taking off his shoes and socks and motioning him to stand up. He did as she asked and she took off his black shirt, then his tank top.

Present Sam wanted to look away because he knew what was going to happen but instead he wished he had a large drink and buttery popcorn so he could enjoy this.

Mercedes then unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants taking them off of him. She pushed him on to the bed and then pulled the covers over him. Once he was safely tucked in she was ready to leave.

"Ok, I'm gonna go. Have a goodnight Sam."

"Wait! Don't go..." Sam said to her.

"Sam..." Mercedes said... She was silently pleading for him to let her go.

"Please. Don't. Go." Sam said again_. 'Damn him and his sexy drunk pleading' _Mercedes thought.

"Ok... I'll stay, for as long as you need me." Mercedes put her purse down and stood near the bed. Sam opened the sheet and pulled her down so that she was lying next to him.

"You don't know how badly I miss you mercy." Sam said looking at her look at the ceiling.

"Sam... Don't. I'm only here because you said you were lonely, and it's your birthday."

"So you don't miss me? Like at all?" he took his hand and pulled her face to his so that she was looking at him.

"I do... Sometimes..." she looks down and finishes, "Then I remember that you hurt me and it goes away."

Sam only nodded at that then looked away from her towards the ceiling.

"Did you enjoy your birthday at least?" Mercedes asks.

"Yeah... I guess I did." Sam answers.

"Did you get any good presents?"

"No... Well some. But I didn't get want I really wanted." he was looking at her again now.

"And what might that be?" she turned so that she was looking at him too.

"You sure you want to know?" he asked moving closer.

"I wouldn't of asked if I didn't." she smiled in his face. Both Sam's let out a sigh. They both missed her smile, in different ways.

"The only thing I want for my birthday is you." Sam said bluntly.

Mercedes started blushing. She pushed back playfully. "Sam... Stop being silly."

"I'm not being silly mercy. You are the only thing I want..." he got up slightly and he hovered over her. Mercedes gulped when his hands grazed through her hair.

"Sam... I... We..." Sam cut her off with a kiss. She immediately brought him in closer and he deepened the kiss. Sam opened her legs with his and their bodies ground together. Without even knowing it Mercedes rolled them over so that she was on top. She kissed him ardently and he began to get touchy. He practically ripped open her dress and then threw it on the ground. He sat up moving upward to the headboard while she straddled him. Their kiss never broken, present Sam was wondering how he was even able to hold his breath for that long. His hands snaked around to unhook her bra and that's when Mercedes broke their kiss.

Whispering into his mouth she says "Sam... What were about to do... this isn't smart."

He kissed her lips again. He knew she was right but he didn't give a shit. All he knew right now was Mercedes was back in his arms again and that's all that mattered.

Pulling her in closer Sam says, "I know."

* * *

_A/N: if you are wondering why he called mercedes instead of wendy its cause he still has her under wife in his phone :)_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: there's a certain part in here that I think you won't like… but don't worry, it will get better… maybe. Anyway, chapter 12..**

_"Sammy? Sammy where are you?" Mercedes said looking around the lake. She and Sam decided to go for a swim down at the quarry. Sam and Mercedes were splashing around and having fun when Sam decided to play a trick on her. He went underwater and was waiting for her to notice he was gone. She looked around and didn't see him anywhere. He swam towards her and popped up at the last minute. Mercedes' face looked almost white with terror._

_"Got you!" Sam said with a smile. But Mercedes didn't move. She just stood there with a face stricken with shock._

_"Babe? Are you ok?" Sam asked... She didn't answer. Sam waved his hands in front of her face but Mercedes body was statuesque._

_"Mercy... I was just kidding... Honestly."_  
_With that Mercedes' face turned into a smile and she splashed water directly into his face._

_"Ha! Got you!" she said pointing to his chest. Sam laughed while flipping his hair back and grabbed her to him. Mercedes tried to get away but his arms held her firmly to his muscular chest._

_"No way... You're not going anywhere darlin." he shook his hair out at her wetting her face. Mercedes giggled and punched his chest trying to get out of his strong hold._

_"Sam! Let me go before you get my weave wet!"_

_He gave her his signature crooked smile and kissed her lips. She accepted the kiss and returned it with just as much passion._  
_"Now will let me go?" Mercedes asked once their lips released._

_"Never." he replied._

Mercedes woke up to her alarm buzzing. She had yet another dream about him. She hated that she was reliving all their moments together. She just wanted to forget him. Forget that he loved her, forget that she loved him. She wanted to forget that she gave herself to him... All of herself, only for him to bounce off to west bumble fuck and never see her again. The last time he called her was the morning after he made it to Kentucky. The call was awkward and you could feel the tension over the phone. And then that was it. No more calls or cute text messages from him. Not even a letter. Truth was Mercedes wasn't really expecting anything, it was merely hope. She was hoping that he was still lingering... Like she was. But deep down inside, she knew. A guy like Sam doesn't linger. Hell, he got over Quinn like he got over a 24hour stomach virus. And when he found out Santana was dating karofsky he didn't give two and a half fucks. So Mercedes knew that he had moved on. She didn't blame him; she just hoped he was happy. Even though she was dying inside, regressing into herself more and more, day by day, she honestly just hoped he was happy.

It was 12 o clock in the afternoon and Mercedes decided that she had to eat something. She skipped dinner the past two days because as she said to her mother _"my life is over! Which means I don't have to eat!" _her mother called her a drama queen and Mercedes went upstairs and slammed her door. She even called Sam. From a blocked number of course. He picked up and she just listened to him ask "_who is this?"_ over and over. Once he hung up she cried at her desperation. Was it really that bad that she had called her ex-boyfriend just to hear him speak? Mercedes shook the thoughts out of her mind and made herself a sandwich. She toasted the bread, added some Mayo and cheese and then the turkey and lettuce. She sat at her kitchen table alone looking through her Facebook updates. She noticed that Sam had updated and it read _"you never know how much you miss someone until you are away from them."  
_  
Mercedes secretly wished he was talking about her but her mind kept telling her, he wasn't. But she went to his wall anyway and looked through all his recent updates. The one that stood out to her was **"Samuel Captain America Evans now works at Dairy Queen (DQ)"**

She was happy he got a job. She smiled and liked it. _"Oh shit"_ she thought. _'Now he's going to know I'm stalking him'_

Mercedes thought about unliking it when her phone rang. The familiar tune of _"Devil in a Blue Dress"_ told Mercedes exactly who was calling _"Santana".  
_  
She picked it up reluctantly and said "hello Santana... How can I help you?"

"Jesus wheezy, turn down the tude'. I was just calling you to see if you wanted to hang out with Britt, me and Tina today?"

"I already told Tina no. I don't feel like hanging out today. Actually I don't feel like doing much of anything lately."

"You can say that again. Between you and trouty I have no idea who's Facebook wall is more depressing."

Mercedes almost choked on a piece of sandwich. How the hell did Santana find out about her and Sam? Were they being too obvious with their subliminal updates?

"What are you talking about? I don't post depressing stuff, neither does Sam."

"Oh please... Every one of y'all updates makes me want to kill myself. Trouty obviously misses all of us and you are just sad cause you're forever alone."

_"Whew!"_ Mercedes thought. "_Santana knows nothing."  
_  
"Thanks for stating the obvious, bitch." Mercedes replied dryly.

Santana laughed and added, "Don't worry girl! That's all about to change because your auntie snixx is throwing a hella party tonight at my rents house. And you have to come cause I invited literally half the school."

"I told you. I'm not going to any party. I just want to spend the rest of the summer alone. Then have a great senior year and never have to see anyone ever again."

"You are laying too much on my plate their Aretha. You seem stressed, just come to my bash! Have some fun and loosen that tight vagina of yours for one night. Not saying you have to lose your v card to some suspect looking fool, just saying come party with snixx and then go home and sing sad songs about how no one loves you."

"Tana look I know you're just trying to help but..." Mercedes words were cut off by the doorbell, she told Santana to hold on and she ran to open the door. Standing on her porch was Santana, Tina and Brittany.

"You were saying?" Santana said hanging up the call and rudely inviting herself in.

She, Brittany and Tina went into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Why are you all here?" Mercedes asked them.

"Because, you can say no to us over the phone but I doubt you'll be able to resist Tina's Asian persuasion, my attitude towards just about everything and Britt's puppy dog face... Show her Britt." Santana said nudging Brittany. Brittany showed her and Mercedes started to burst out in laughter.

"Ahh! We got a smile! Does that mean Ms. Mercedes is joining us tonight for the party?" Tina asked.

Mercedes shrugged her shoulders and thought, _"What the hell! I deserve a little fun... Right? I bet Sam's is having fun right now..."  
_  
"Ok! I'll go... But Tina, you're going to have to help me find something to wear!" Tina jumped up and smiled at her saying "Of course!"

Santana linked pinkies with Brittany and said, "Ok, Coffee and Asian cream we gotta go. Britt's and I needs to hit the mall before the party."

"Yeah... I told Santana I wanna look sexy... But yummy. Like Katy Perry on the cover of her newest album." Brittany added.

Tina and Mercedes laughed and Brittany and Santana said their goodbyes and headed out for the door.

Once upstairs Mercedes was rummaging through her closet while Tina decided to go on her computer and update her status real quick. Before she pulled up the Internet Tina saw a photo album on Mercedes' computer. It had the initials S&M in it. Curiosity got the best of Tina and she opened it. Inside she saw photos of Mercedes and Sam. Them at the lake together, at a carnival near a tilt a whirl... One with Sam sleeping on her bed, and lots of them kissing. Her favorite was the one on the park bench. They were kissing and smiling at the same time. Mercedes came out of the closet with lots of clothes and Tina quickly exited out of the album.

"Ok, so I have a lot of suggestions... So bear with me." Mercedes picked up a black wrap dress and put it over her body. Tina turned around in her chair and crossed her arms and pursed her lips.

"I'm guessing by the look on your face you don't like the dress?" Mercedes asked.

"The dress is gorgeous... I guess I'm just a little upset..." Tina started

"Why? Did something pop up on your Facebook that you didn't like?" Mercedes laughed, but Tina's face was still the same. She seemed pissed about something.

"I honestly thought we were best friends Mercedes..." Tina said.

"We are... Why are you telling me something I already know?" Mercedes was so confused.

"Hmm... Maybe because you dated Sam Evans and didn't even think to tell me about it?"

* * *

Sam didn't know how to handle it. Being away from her was so painful. Somedays he wanted to just get in his dad's car and drive as fast as he could and see her. It wouldn't of mattered if she didn't love him anymore. He would still knock on her door, kiss her hard and then tell her he missed her. Which he hoped would lead to her telling him that she still loved him and then some very passionate reunion sex. If only he could, Sam thought. Every day he would check his Facebook just to see if she had updated, and when she did it would be a depressing love quote or something of that variety and Sam wished on everything that it was about him. Sam he kept telling himself that they weren't, that she probably just put it up to put it up, one of those _"Meh"_statues but sadly he knew that they weren't. So in turn he would update his Facebook with something just as depressing, trying to see if she got the hint. He missed her and still loved her. But it seemed to have no effect. She didn't write on his wall or like any of his posts. Well except the one where he updated his work information. He smiled when he saw the like. Even miles away she was still proud of him. It almost made him call her just to have a silly conversation about how for the first week he had no idea how to work the soft serve machine. But he fought against it.

Sam got up and looked over to the glass picture of him and her. His fingers grazed it gently before he went into the shower. He was working the late shift tonight and he hated it. That's when all the Kentucky burn outs would show up and order stupid shit. Sam would've quit if he had a better job offer and if his family didn't need the money. Sam got out of the shower and decided to update his Facebook before work. Looking through the barrel of bullshit for Mercedes the only update he found was **Mercedes Divalious Jones** is going to **Santana Lopez's** "_fuck! School is almost back Bash_"

Sam felt a twinge of jealously. Mercedes was having fun, living life with all of their friends and he had to work. He sighed and got dressed taking his jacket off the chair and exiting the door.

He got to work on time for once and he punched in and put on that awful shirt that smelled of old fries and ice-cream. He said hello to his co-worker slash almost friend Brett. Brett was kind of an idiot but Sam thought he was cool, he was nerdy like Sam and he happened to love marvel comics so Sam decided to become his friend.

Sam stood behind the cash register while Brett sat on the counter tapping his hands making a false beat.

"Dude... Get down. Before the manager comes and sees you! He'll write both of us up."

"Manager's not here today, he told me since you seem like the smartest one here you're in charge buddy." Brett tapped his shoulder.

Sam sighed. Just what he fucking needed _more work_. Soon their first costumer came in. She was beautiful, thin, Honey blonde locks that would have any cat purring. She walked over to the cash register and Sam began the routine.

"Hello! Welcome to DQ! How can I help you?"

"Well... You can start by giving me an Oreo blizzard and your name." Sam looked to Brett who was already on his way to make it. He came back a few minutes later with it and then she handed Sam the money in a very seductive manner.

"So you really aren't going to tell me your name?" she asked again.

Sam looked down and pointed to his name tag. She laughed and grazed the tag with her fingers. "Well, _Sam_... I'm Mindy and I'm gonna put this simply..."

She put her finger in the blizzard and then put the ice-cream covered finger in her mouth. "I want you. Sam."

Sam looked away and Bret jumped over the counter. "Take me! Fuck this loser! I'll do whatever you want baby."

Mindy rolled her eyes at him and then focused back on Sam. "Ummm that's good to know but I'm not interested. Sorry."

Mindy slammed the blizzard down on the counter and said, "Seriously? You really don't want all of this?" she was pointing at her square figure. Sam almost laughed. _'Is she serious?'_he said to himself.

"I'm definitely sure I don't want all of whatever that is." Sam said with a hint of laughter. _'Nope! She's not curvy and she has nothing to hold onto.' _Sam thought.

"Ugh, whatever you're the one missing out hot stuff." she winked at him and Sam wished she would just get her thirsty ass out of the store.

"I'll let you watch me walk away and think about it... I'll be back sexy." she sauntered out of the store and Sam breathed a sigh of relief. Brett however looked like he just came in his work pants.

"Dude! How could you not hit that...? She was all over you like white on rice!" Brett hit his shoulder and Sam just shrugged.

"She just... Wasn't my type, that's all."

"Are you kidding? She's everybody's type! If I put her in front of my _grandmother _even she would try to get her out of her panties!" Brett said.

Sam laughed. Brett may be silly but he was funny as all hell.

"Seriously, man... What gives? You got a girl already?"

Sam mind was saying "_Yes! Her name is Mercedes and she's beautiful. I'm so in love with her it hurts and I want to be the father of each and every one of her babies."_

But instead he went with, "Nope. No girlfriend."

"Oh... _OH!_" Brett seemed to come to a realization. "Are, you... Are you.. Gay?"

Sam face grew red with shock immediately he replied "No! I'm not gay! I swear!"

"Then tell me? Why would you deny yourself a hottie who was clearly throwing herself at you. Dude I bet if I wasn't here she would've agreed to fuck you on the counter."

"I... I'm just not in the mood for dating... Or fucking or otherwise." Sam answered.

Brett looked at his face and knew that expression. Sam was hiding something.  
"Oh. My. God!" Brett yelled.

"What?" Sam asked.

"You're in love aren't you?" Brett says.

"No... I'm not! Look can we drop this?"

"No way man. I have a super power now, and that super power is to know when my best friend is madly in love with a girl!"

"Seriously Brett? I'm your Best friend?" Sam laughed.

"Whatever man! It would explain why you shoot down almost every girl who comes in here and flirts with you. It would also explain your weird mood swings."

"Brett! Let. It. Go. Ok?" Sam said almost yelling at him.

"I will not! Not until you give me a name!" Brett was pestering him and Sam was on the edge of just punching his lights out to shut him up for a while.

"Ok! I'll give you a name if you promise that as soon as I do you will act your age and get back to work!" Sam couldn't believe he had to treat Brett like he treats Stevie.

"I promise... Name?" Brett asked.

"Ok... Her name is, Mercedes."

* * *

Mercedes wasn't having a good time. She and Tina had an argument back at her house and Tina told her that she needed time to simmer, after Mercedes made her promise not to tell anyone. Tina agreed and they made it to the party around 9:30. Mercedes danced with Santana and Brittany in the middle of the dance floor for a while. Trying to get over everything. Sam being gone... Her fight with Tina. Her fleeting friendship with Kurt... Everything. She soon got hot and took a seat in the nearest corner. She watched everyone dance and she couldn't help but think about Sam. She wondered how he was doing. Then she remembered when he took her to the lake at night time and then they played the radio from Mercedes car and they danced almost all night. It was one of the best nights of her life. She remembered that's when Sam got to touch her boobs. He was such a nerd when it came to touching her boobs. Jiggling them in his hands and smiling. Mercedes' memories were interrupted by a big man asking her something.

"I'm sorry what?" she asked getting out of her Sam Evans filled haze.

"I said you look like you aren't haven't much fun." he sat down next to her and smiled. His smile was so genuine.

"What gave it away?" Mercedes said laughing.

"I guess it was the fact that you are the most beautiful girl here and yet you're sitting in the corner."

Mercedes blushed. She hadn't been called beautiful since the night she gave herself to Sam. "Thank you." she said simply.

"Oh you're definitely welcome, Mercedes." he said with a smile.

"How do you know my name?" she asked. _'Is this guy some stalkering fool?' _she asked herself.

"Well for one, we go to the same church, and the same school. I just never had the courage to talk to you before."

"How come I haven't noticed you before?"

"Well I stopped going to church with my parents and you seem like the kinda girl that only focuses on one thing "her dreams". I've seen you sing in the choir. You are amazing. I'm pretty sure you don't have time for the lil folk such as myself." he laughed lightly.

"Thank you... Umm" Mercedes said again. "I didn't catch your name... What is it?"

He smiled and said, "It's Shane. Shane Tinsley."

Mercedes got in late and immediately took off her party clothes. Not even thinking about putting on a shirt or pants. She went to her computer, logged into Facebook and smiled when she saw a friend request from Shane. They talked all night and he was sweet and nice, and he kept calling her beautiful almost all night. She quickly accepted and then went back to her bed plopping down on it. She put her phone on the charger and pulled the covers over her. The day that started out a fucking mess ended up being pretty good. Mercedes could feel herself fading when she heard Sam's ringtone of "Michael Jackson's "_The Way You Make Me Feel"_She looked down at the phone to make sure she heard it right and there it was his name popping up. She answered it on the third ring.

"Sam?" she asked suspiciously

"Yeah... Uh, Hey Mercy, How are you?"

"Am I dreaming?" she asked to the phone.

"I don't know... I don't think you are. Unless we both are?" he chuckled.

"It's just that... You haven't called me in forever, or texted or anything. And now out of the blue you call me? Is there something wrong?"

"No! There isn't. I just... I just wanted to talk to you. I just got off of work and I kinda had a shitty day, and I started to remember that time I had a terrible day at the shop in Lima and we talked until we both fell asleep? Do you remember?"

Mercedes sighed. She did remember. She and Sam talked all night about everything and nothing. "Yeah... I remember. I remember a lot of things Sam."

"Yeah... Me too." there was a very awkward silence for at least a minute before Sam said something.

"Well... I guess I should... Go to sleep then? Yeah... I should... Goodnight Mercy."

"Sam... This doesn't have to be weird unless you want it to be. Just say what you have to say." Mercedes managed to say before he hung up.

"I don't know how to ask you this but umm... Can you stay on the phone with me till I fall asleep? I kinda miss us doing that... You can say no- obviously... If it's too weird-"

"Ok." is all she replied cutting him off.

"Ok? Ok as in yes? Or ok as in no?"

"Okay as in yes, Sam... I forgot you like to over analyze things." she laughed.

"Hey! It's not my fault! Blame the dyslexia!"

Mercedes laughed again and then she and Sam had a two hour long conversation. Once Sam heard Mercedes lightly snoring into the phone that's when he ended the call, closed his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

A four month pregnant Mercedes got out of the limo and made her way down the red carpet. She hated these things now a days. Yes she was nominated for two Grammys but she was tired all the time and hormonal. Not to mention stressed, because she knew Sam was going to be there. He still didn't know about the baby and Mercedes couldn't be any happier. The label made her lose weight for the album cover but she was far from skinny, so the baby bump wouldn't even stir any feathers. Her publicist and former best friend Tina held onto her arm helping her to the carpet where all those damn photographers were waiting to take pictures. Mercedes stood there while they took shot after shot of her and all she kept thinking was _'fuck everybody'_. She forced herself to smile and as if Tina was reading her mind she whispered in her ear "_Relax Mercy. Nobody knows. You don't have to be so hostile."_

Mercedes gave Tina her side eye even though she knew she was right. She then proceeded down the carpet. Her long red dress caused almost everyone to look in her direction, from photographers to celebrities. Mercedes was actually feeling pretty good after her interview with an aging Ryan Secrest... He picked her as the favorite to win album of the year tonight and Mercedes couldn't have agreed more. After all her pain and heartache she experienced over the last two years all she wanted now was to move on and win some more Grammys.

Then as if the devil himself heard her happiness from hell, she Saw Sam Evans walking down the carpet with some floosy he was obviously fucking. She looked over to him and then he caught her gaze. She flipped her hair ignoring his wink at her and went inside. She wasn't going to be bothered with Sam tonight. Nothing in the world was going to bring her down. Not even him and his whore. Mercedes rubbed her belly then took her seat next to Beyoncé. Who told her _'good luck' _and winked.

Mercedes won the Grammy for best R&B album and now it was time for album of the year. She was up against so many greats that she honestly didn't think she stood a chance. When her name was called she sat there shocked as all hell. Tina nudged her and Mercedes got up and went to accept. She thanked everyone including god. She usually would thank Sam who was standing and clapping but never again would she thank that asshat for anything.

Once the Grammys were over they went to an after party and Mercedes was celebrating her win in a big way. She was dancing up on whoever wanted to dance and then she felt familiar hands around her waist. She turned around and saw Sam.

"What are you doing?" she asked in anger.

"Dancing with you... That's obvious." he smiled at her then Mercedes pushed him away.

"Stay away from me!" she yelled while making her way through the crowd. She hoped he didn't feel the hardness of her belly while his hands were around her. Mercedes made it out back and breathed in the fresh air. Her peace was interrupted once Sam found her.

"Mercedes! There you are! Why did you run away?"

"Because, I want nothing to do with you! Do you understand?"

"Look, I know we said some harsh words 2 months ago but I didn't mean them and I know you didn't either."

"Like hell I didn't! I meant every word! I hate you Sam! Do you know that? That I hate you?"

"Mercy... Please," Sam tried to say.

"Don't you Mercy me! I hate you! I hate what you did to us! I hate that I have to see you everywhere! I hate that I slept with you out of weakness..."

Mercedes was crying now. She pushed up against the wall and let the tears fall. 'Damn these pregnancy hormones!' Mercedes thought. Sam just stood there. He didn't know what to say or do at this point. All he wanted was a chance at an olive branch with Mercedes. Even if that meant just friendship. Sam hated that she wasn't in his life, somehow, someway.

"Do you wanna know what I hate the most?" Mercedes said wiping her tears away. "I hate that no matter how hard I try to fight it, I still love you." She cried even harder now.

Sam moved forward and tried to grab her hands. She pushes him away and yells "Don't you touch me! Ever again do you understand me?" Sam moves towards her again and grabs her arms. She fights him... Trying to pull him away. He kisses her once, twice and then another. She slaps him hard in the face. It only causes him to kiss her again harder. He pushes her up against the wall and begins kissing her everywhere. Mercedes pushes him back once more but something in Sam kept telling him to keep trying. He presses his body to hers, looking her in the eye, while his hands run up her thighs in a slow motion. Mercedes gets lost in him and his feel. _What does this man do to me? _She kept asking herself.

He cups her ass through her dress and Mercedes could now feel his hardness against her pregnant belly. That's when Mercedes knew that this wasn't right. She shouldn't let him touch her like this, taste her like this… especially when he didn't know she was carrying his baby in her belly.

"Sam..." Mercedes says in a moan. Sam's hardness was grinding into her and she could feel it through her dress. His lips make it down to her neck right to her spot. '_Damn him for knowing how to turn Mercedes' on 101' _Mercedes thought.

"Sam we can't do this..." she tried again.

"Here? I know. Let me take you home... Right now!" Sam whispered against her neck.

"No, Sam I mean, we can't do this at all." Mercedes pushes him back gently this time.

"If this is because of what happened between us mercy, I want you to know something..."

"Sam... Don't do this." Mercedes pleaded. She would give anything for him to walk away right now and go back to his floozy.

"No! Mercy you need to know... I'm not going to stop fighting for us. If I have to spend the rest of my life trying to atone what I did then so be it. You are it for me, Mercedes. I knew it the night I asked you to dance and they played jar of hearts. I've been in love with you since junior prom and nothing is going to change that. I'll do whatever it takes to love you the way you deserve to be loved again."

Mercedes looked down at her belly and rubbed it gently. "Sam... There are factors that could change everything. Even your feelings towards me..." Mercedes looked down and swallowed hard. Was she really gonna tell him now?

"Whatever it is Mercedes... I'm sure we can work it out..." Sam says.

_'No time like the present..' _Mercedes thought." she exhaled and said, "Sam... I'm pregnant."

* * *

Sam woke up in a sweat. He looked around the Kentucky room and then buried his face into his pillow. He then picked up his phone and saw he had a text from Mercedes.

**Future wife:** had a very weird dream! Call me sometime tomorrow and I'll tell you about it? :).


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: So I'm currently sick with a cold that just won't go away. And this right here is what my feverish mind came up with. So if it makes no sense or seems jumbled it aint my fault. Well it is, but whatevs.**

**Some context before reading: I took a break from the angst of divorced samcedes and pregnant!Mercedes and gave you straight love, love, love. Don't worry next chapter we will get back to the angst. But my damn muse was stubborn and refused to write it, and for that I'm sorry. **

**Oh and you should know just because Mercedes has one dream like Sam, doesn't mean she will continue to… **

**Anyways… chapter 13!**

_"So, are you going to explain or should I call Sam and ask him?"  
Tina sat back with her arms crossed in front of her and waited for Mercedes to begin speaking._

_"How... How did you find out?" Mercedes asked._

_"I was on your computer and you had the S&M photo album already opened, so naturally I looked thorough it." Tina lied._

_"Tina look, it's not what it looks like."_

_"So... you didn't date Sam Evans and all those pics are photoshopped?"_

_"No... They're real." Mercedes sat down over the pile of clothes on her bed and sighed. There was not much she could do or say that would throw Tina off, so her only choice was to come clean._

_"Sam and I did date... But we're over now, so it doesn't really matter." that was the best answer she could think of. She internally sighed because to herself it still did matter, but she was trying to convince herself of otherwise._

_"So, he broke up with you?" Tina asked. Her face softened, wondering if what she said had any truth to it._

_"It was kind of a mutual break up. He was leaving and it was over before it began, really." Mercedes didn't feel the tears coming out of her eyes but they were there anyway._

_"Who else knows?" Tina asked._

_"No one. Except our parents. Oh and Quinn, but that was only because we argued in front of her about our relationship"_

_"Mercedes... Why didn't you tell me? Or Kurt? Or Rachel? We are supposed to be your friends... Don't you trust us?"_

_Mercedes immediately got defensive and added, "Honestly Tina? You have Mike. So you're always busy, Rachel is too obsessed with Finn and her dreams to care about anything else and once Kurt laid eyes on Blaine everyone else literally faded into the background..."_

_"I may have Mike but you're still my best friend girl! We could've talked about it! And went on double dates!" Tina defended herself, Mercedes was right, she did have Mike, but she loved Mercedes like a sister, and she couldn't fathom why she would keep a secret like this from her. It was good news! And it would've delighted Tina, she would've been happy for her friend._

_"I... I honestly didn't want anyone to know." Mercedes sobbed._

_"Why not?" Tina came over to her and wrapped an arm around her. She could tell Mercedes was hurting. There was obviously something more going on than Mercedes was willing to tell._

_"I guess I just... wanted him to myself for a while. Apart of me still couldn't believe a guy like Sam wanted me. It was surreal. I didn't want whatever we had to end. And then like magic it was gone. We hardly talk anymore. It's like it was all a dream." Mercedes cried into Tina's shoulder and Tina wrapped both her arms around her and let her let it out._

_"Mercedes... Do you love him?"_

_"Not anymore..." Mercedes said through tears, "But I did once, I guess."_

_"How does one fall out of love that easily? I mean even if Mike were away from me, I would still love him."_

_Mercedes wiped her tears away and pulled back from Tina. "I guess a part of me still does but, he's not coming back Tina, I can't just stay in love with Sam, knowing that I might never see him again."_

_"I understand... I guess." Tina wiped her face and picked up the wrap dress that Mercedes was holding. "Here definitely wear this to the party... I'm gonna go."_

_"Wait!" Mercedes yelled to Tina before she could leave, "Why are you leaving?"_

_"I have to go get dressed. And just because I understand yours and Sam's situation, doesn't mean I forgive you for keeping secrets. It's like a huge slap in the face on our friendship mercy."_

_"Tina for what it's worth, I'm sorry..." Mercedes said._

_"I know you are. Just give me time ok? I wouldn't say that I am mad, but I'm not happy about this either... I need time... To simmer... Ok?"_

_"Ok." Mercedes put her head down defeatedly and Tina headed for the door._

_"Tina can you do me a favor?"_

_"Depends... What do you need mercy?"_

_"Can you not tell anyone? I'm trying hard to get over this and it isn't going to happen if the whole school knows..."_

_Tina bit her lip and contemplated, "I don't really like keeping secrets from mike. But I'll promise I'll try, ok?"_

_Mercedes just nodded and then Tina left. Mercedes threw the dress she was holding on the floor and went on her laptop. She reopened the photo album and like always, she looked through it and cried, reminding herself that whatever she and Sam once had was over._

Mercedes snapped out of her thoughts and focused on what Shane was saying to her. He had asked her to go get coffee with him at the Lima bean and she agreed, reluctantly. If she were being honest she was feeling lonely. And even though she and Sam agreed to text each other, it wasn't filling the empty void Mercedes was feeling. Kurt was busy with Blaine, Tina and Mike were in a love filled haze, Santana and Brittany were finally on after Santana's party, Artie would hang out sometimes but he made new friends down at the handicappable skate park, and Rachel was in Finn-land. So Mercedes was all by herself, until Shane came along. He was sweet and nice. Mercedes only saw him as a friend, which she didn't want to admit she needed right now.

"Mercedes? Mercedes are you listening to me?" Shane asked

"What? I'm sorry my mind is everywhere today. Can you repeat that?" Mercedes says

"We were talking about firsts? You know first love and all that?"

"Oh. Right... That." Mercedes took another sip of coffee and looked down. She didn't want to talk about this with Shane. _Why the hell was this fool asking that anyway?_

"Yeah, so as I was saying her name was Vicky. She was sweet and I was 14... How about you?"

"Hm? What are you talking about?"

"First kiss? Age and describe the person."

Mercedes almost choked on her coffee. Even though Sam wasn't her first kiss, her mind immediately went to him. He was certainly the best and most memorable. Every time they would kiss she felt it with her whole body, like his lips were un-lit dynamite and hers were the match. Once they touched, boom... _Fireworks_. But she wasn't going to tell Shane that. She didn't think he would understand anyway.

"Well, my very first kiss was a boy name Carl. He surprised me one day at church camp. We were standing by the lake and _BAM_! He laid one on me. I was 12 and I was so angry I pushed him into the lake and got in trouble."

Shane started to laugh and Mercedes smiled. "Well you got me beat! You win Ms. Jones. You definitely win." Shane said through laughter.

Mercedes was laughing as well and a piece of her hair that she had tucked back fell forward. Shane reached over and gently put it behind her ear. Mercedes froze, not knowing what to do. The last time a boy did that she ended up making out with him and making him 20 minutes late for work. But in her defense, Sam shouldn't of been cupping her ass and pushing his harness into her, getting her all hot and bothered. _'Damnit I gotta stop thinking about him!_' Mercedes thought.

She pushed Shane's hand away gently and wrapped her hand around the coffee. Clenching to it for dear life.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable" Shane sipped his coffee and looked towards the window.

"No... It's fine. I just wasn't expecting that, that's all." she put her hand on his arm and smiled warmly at him. Hoping to relieve the tension. He smiled and dived right back into conversation.

"So... Mercedes, have you ever had a boyfriend?" Shane asked.

Mercedes bit her lip. _'Why does he have to ask so many damn questions? You don't have to tell him anything Mercedes, does Sam even count as a boyfriend if I no one knew?_' Mercedes shut down her mind and answered,

"I did, kinda, but we weren't official or anything... Why do you ask?"

"Well, you and I have been on exactly five dates and..." Shane started.

_'Dates? Does he think those were dates? What?_' Mercedes thought

"... I wanted to know if you wanted to make things official?"

"Umm... What?" Mercedes asked. She was so confused. All those times that they went out were nothing but friendly gestures to her. Getting coffee, picnics in the park, that one time when they went out for dinner... '_oh god!_' Mercedes' mind just had an epiphany. _'Those were dates! I've been leading this boy on and now He wants to be my boyfriend?"_

"I guess I should make things more clear, Mercedes I want you, to be my girlfriend, and I want to be your boyfriend." Shane breathed out a sigh of relief after he just spit it out. He'd been holding that in for a while.

"Shane... I... I don't know." Mercedes said. What she wanted to tell him was that she wasn't really over a certain blond kid who was goofy, cute and could fit her entire breast into one of his large hands. But Shane wouldn't of appreciated that answer. Even if it was the honest one.

Shane grabbed her hand and got ready to make his plea, "Look I know, that you have a lot of walls up and there's a lot about you that I don't know, but what I do know is that I like you, a lot, and you're funny and you have the cutest smile I have ever witnessed. You are beautiful baby, and all I want is a chance to be your man, wholeheartedly,"

How could she say no to him now? That was better than the soliloquy that Sam busted out that time in the library. Damn these boys for knowing just what to say and how to say it. In the back of her mind, Mercedes was wary, but maybe, just maybe Shane could help her get over Sam? Maybe if Shane was around Sam would seem like a distant memory? Mercedes smiled and said, "Ok Shane... I'll give it a try, but I'm giving you a fair warning, I'm not easy to handle."

Shane smiled and gripped her hand tighter and said, "I'm up for any challenge you throw at me baby."

Mercedes grinned, but in the back of her mind she was thinking, _"What the hell have I gotten myself into now?"_

* * *

Sam called Mercedes that morning after his dream. He waited and waited and she answered on the fourth ring.

"Hello?" said Mercedes through the phone, the sound of her beautiful mellow voice was almost dick hardening. Maybe it was because he was away from her for so long? He didn't remember her sounding like a phone sex operator.

"Hey mercy. It's... Uhh it's Sam."

"I know Sam, I have caller ID remember?" she laughed.

"Right. Well you told me to call you, you know the text message?" Sam had no idea why he was being so awkward. They had literally talked on the phone just last night.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you for reminding me! Sam I had such a weird dream last night! Can you hold on though? I just got out of the shower and I'm soaking wet."

Sam didn't say a word as he felt his dick grow hard against his jeans. _Damn her_. She had no idea how much she still turned him on; from miles away she still had it. _Damn her_... Straight to... Heaven. _Just because she was too beautiful for hell._

"Sam? Are... Are you there?" Mercedes asked when he didn't answer.

"Uhh... Yep. Still here." Sam was looking under his bed for some lotion. He was going to need it after he got off the phone with this secret seductress and her magical I'm gonna turn Sam Evans on without even realizing it, words.

"Ok! It will probably take a couple minutes. You know me; I gotta put lotion on and then clothes." Mercedes was laughing but Sam didn't find the humor in her sentence. He wanted to be there on her bed, watching her put lotion on. Like that time he stayed over and she did it. Just the memories of it made Sam want to teleport to Ohio and hump her silly.

"Mercy, Take all the time you need."

"Ok!" Mercedes said rather enthusiastically. She moved away from the phone and Sam ran to the bathroom. It didn't take long for Sam to relieve himself. Thoughts of a naked Mercedes, smelling like vanilla and all those other scents did it for him, in less than five minutes. And that hasn't happened since he was 14 and his then teacher _Mrs. Davis _would be the star of his prepubescent sexual fantasies. Now it was all Mercedes, 24/7 and he hated it. And only because he knew she wasn't his any longer. And that only made him want her more.

"Sam?" Mercedes said to the phone.

Sam came running back, zipping his pants up and answering, "Sorry! I had to pee." He lied.

"Ew... Sam, Tmi." she giggled.

Sam laughed and added, "Hey! You didn't have a problem with my general before!"

"I still don't. I just don't want to hear what you do in the bathroom... That's your business."

"I'm sorry but all I took from that is that you still want me." Sam was trying it, Mercedes was thankful that he was miles away, so he couldn't see her cheeks getting red. _Damn him_!

"Sam. Don't even start." Mercedes was not in the mood for the cat and mouse game. It would only lead to them having an awkward conversation and admitting things they were both trying to bury.

"Ok, ok. I'll leave it alone... But you need to tell me about your dream. Or no deal."

Mercedes let out a faux sigh and said, "Ok, fine I'll tell you... But it was really weird, and it felt real."

Sam moved up his bed and started to listen intensively. "I'm all ears. Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"Ok I hope I don't freak you out, but here I go: so... In the dream, I was at the Grammy awards, pregnant. You were there, but we weren't together. Actually I'm pretty sure I hated you..."

"Oh. God." Sam said to her over the phone. Last night they had the same dream. Wait was that even possible? How the hell did they dream the exact same dream?

"Sam? Are you ok?" Mercedes asked genuinely worried.

"Uhh... yeah, I am. Continue..."

Mercedes continued her story from beginning to end telling Sam the details of what he already knew. _What did this all mean_? Sam asked himself. He was more confused and frightened than ever. If Mercedes is now seeing what he sees when he dreams, does that mean that the possibility of it coming true increases? Maybe Sam needed to talk to a therapist about this shit. It was seriously scaring him.

"Sammy? I- mean Sam?" Mercedes said to the phone. It was completely dead on his end and Mercedes wondered if he was listening at all.

"I'm still here Mercedes, it's... Just I'm kinda freaked out right now." Sam said.

"I'm sorry Sam. I didn't mean to freak you out; it's just the dream felt so-"

"Real?" Sam said finishing her sentence.

"Yes! It was so vivid, like it wasn't a dream at all. Like I was in the future or something, on the outside looking in!"

"I completely understand... In fact mercy, I think I should tell you something..."

"What is it Sam? You can tell me anything, you know that."

Sam knew that was true. Mercedes Jones was more than his ex-girlfriend; she was everything he ever dreamed of wrapped into a big bow. Friend, lover, confidant and the girl who still held his heart. Sam blew out a breath and got ready to tell her his futuristic dreams when he heard Mercedes mom over the phone.

"Mercedes! Sweetheart, Shane is downstairs waiting for you. The poor child's been waiting for 20 good minutes!" Angela Jones yelled from downstairs.

"Oh shit! I forgot..." Mercedes said to herself. "Sam... I gotta go," she said to the phone.

"I heard, so who's Shane?" Sam didn't mean for it to come out in a jealous tone but he couldn't stop it if he wanted too.

"Oh! I met him at San's party last night. He's on the football team, at McKinley!"

Sam sat back and tried to remember a Shane. Then like a light bulb that went off in his head he suddenly remembered "Shane Tinsley?" he asked her.

"Yeah! He's really nice Sam; he says that he wants to be friends, so I agreed!"

Suddenly Sam remembered the conversation the football players had in the locker room about McKinley girls when he first made quarterback. Shane was the only one who said Mercedes' was the most beautiful girl at McKinley. Sam was dating the ice queen at the time so he didn't pay it any attention. But now the memory was replaying in his head like a broken record.

"Mercy, I don't want you hanging out with him!" Sam said almost possessively.

"Excuse me? Why can't I hang out with Shane?"

"Look, I just don't want you around the guy ok? Something about him doesn't rub me the right way."

"You mean the fact that I'm a girl and he's a nice guy? Guess what Sam; I can hang out with whoever I please! Shane is sweet and hasn't said an in genuine word since I met him, and I can handle myself. The only reason you don't want me hanging out with him is because you're jealous."

"Take that back!" Sam yelled. Who the hell did she think she is? How did she know him so well? Sam looked over to the picture of them kissing and answered his own question.

"I won't take shit back! You need to realize we are over Sam! Done. You have no right to be jealous."

"You know what?" Sam calmed himself down before he said the wrong thing and lost her forever. "You're right. We're done. I'm sorry mercy." he tried his best not to convey how hurt he was by her words, but coming out it even sounded forged to Sam.

"Sam... I didn't mean-" Mercedes started, but once again her mom yelled to her from downstairs.

"Ugh! Sam look can we talk later about, everything?"

"Yeah, We can. I'll text you ok?" Sam said dejectedly.

"Ok! Bye Sammy. I love you." Mercedes said like it was the simplest sentence in the world. As soon as it came out of her mouth she regretted it. She didn't want Sam to get the wrong idea, or force him to admit that he loved her still as well.

Sam didn't know if she meant it platonically or not but he replied, "I love you too, Mercedes."  
And then she hung up.

Shortly after his cold shower, Sam received a text from his almost best friend Brett.

It read: **The Hitman**: hey... Feel like going out tonight? I found a place that will help with heartache! Let a brotha know! xD.

Sam contemplated for a moment before saying _'fuck it_!' and texting Brett that he was in. He had no idea however just how stupid Brett was until he met him that night in front of a strip club.

* * *

"Hey man! I've been waiting forever! The place is almost packed!" Brett said excitedly.

Sam watched as women flooded into the place called "_Stallionz_". He had no idea why so many women were there, or what the club entailed at that point, but he was thoroughly intrigued.

"What is this place? Is it like a bar?" Sam asked.

"Yeah it is. My gay best friend was talking to his boyfriend about it. He said that the women flood this place daily!"

"I don't know man... I don't think I'm up for women hitting on me tonight." Sam says to Brett.

"Dudeee! Please, these aren't girls, ok? Their women... And I want me a MILF! You don't have to do anything, just... Be my wingman!" Brett was practically begging Sam. Sam finally agreed and the walked inside, without being carded. Sam silently thanked his five o clock shadow. They walked in and then looked around. All the ladies were sitting at tables near the stage and immediately... Sam knew. This wasn't a bar; it was a damn strip club!

Before he could hit Brett on the back of the head a tall red headed woman came up to them and said, "Hi, welcome to Stallionz. Where every woman's dream can come true!"

"Hi..." Sam said to her

"Marry me." Brett added.

The red head shook her head at Brett and said, "Not in this life time suga."

Then she looked to Sam. Her eyes raked his body up and down looking at him like he was a piece of finely cut NY strip steak. Finally she asked him, "_Are you one of the dancers_?"

* * *

Sam got in late from the club and then showered again because he felt conveniently dirty after being in that strip club. He checked his phone to see that he had a text from Mercedes.

**Future wife:**I'm sorry if I confused you with the "I love you" earlier. I didn't mean to say that. Forgive me?

Sam sighed because he wasn't angry that she said it. He was actually overjoyed but now, he once again had to bottle up whatever he was feeling for her and swallow it. He texted her back and said, "No forgiveness need. It's okay."

She texted back a smile and said goodnight to him. He replied goodnight and then almost cried himself to sleep. His desperation lead to tonight decision. And he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to look at himself or his parents again.

* * *

Sam woke up seeing his future self in those white sheets. Admittedly, he hadn't seen them in a long time. And usually when they were around, it meant trouble. But Sam couldn't help the smile he saw on his face when he noticed Mercedes laying next to his future self. Future Sam stirred and wrapped his arm around Mercedes tighter. It made her wake up and turn over. She kissed his sleeping mouth and Sam woke up and kissed her back.

"Good morning beautiful." Sam said with a smile.

"Good morning yourself sexy." she kissed the corner of his mouth and Sam brought her in closer. He peppered kisses on her neck and collarbone then made his way to the swell of her breasts. Mercedes' bra of the day was Sam's favorite color red. Sam leaned down and kissed the bra covered nipples causing Mercedes to arch her back.

"Sam! Sam you know that I have to be in the studio in an hour!" Mercedes moaned as she tousled her finger through his bed head.

Future Sam groaned and brought his face back up to hers. "Seriously mercy? You are going to the studio on your birthday?"

Mercedes sat up and said, "Yes Sam, I have to work. My album is coming out early next year and if I want that to happen, all the songs have to be finished soon."

As she got up, both Sam's watched her put on her robe and head to the bathroom. As future Sam stood up he went to the mirror and looked at himself. He had no clothes on, unapologetically in the buff as he flexed and gave himself praises in the mirror. Present Sam noticed as he was doted on himself he wasn't wearing a wedding ring. There wasn't even a tan line where the wedding ring should be. Future Sam went to his dresser and pulled out some sweats. He put them on without underwear and made his way downstairs to make a call.

"Is everything ready? It is? Good. No she doesn't know... What kind of ridiculous question is that? Yeah... She'll know tonight Quinn. Yes, I know I've been keeping this in for a while. Yes, I'm going to tell her..." as he kept talking present Sam was wondering what the hell he was keeping from Mercedes that Quinn of all people knew about. _Damn him_! Present Sam thought. This is how he lost her in the first place. Keeping secrets.

Mercedes made her way downstairs and Sam hurried off the phone. She had her Gucci bag and she was ready to go. "Who were you just talking to?" Mercedes asked him.

"Oh, nobody." future Sam said.

"Uh huh. That's the same answer you said yesterday and the day before that. What's going on Sam? Why are you being so damn secretive?" that's a question Mercedes and present Sam both wanted to know the answer to.

"I'm not! Look if you don't leave now you're gonna be late baby." he pulled her into his arms and kissed her sweetly. She accepted it but she was still suspicious about Sam's secretive behavior.

"Don't forget... Tonight, me and you... Dinner reservations." Sam said to her.

"Ok! I won't forget, but can you please not buy me anything for my birthday? Every time you do I feel like I have to outdo you because it's always so damn extravagant."

"I will make no promises of any such thing, but I will tell you, what I have planned for you tonight you cannot top." he smiled down at her and she gave him a confused expression.

"Sam what are you planning?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that. Have fun at the studio ok?" he kissed her again and practically pushed her out the door.

Soon it was 7o clock and Mercedes had no idea where the time went. She went home quickly changed into Sam's favorite of the new dresses she brought. There was something about Mercedes and red that made Sam go nuts. Mercedes knew it dated back to high school and "_Disco Inferno"_ and that put a smile on her face. She fixed her makeup in the mirror added some lip gloss another one of Sam's favorites. Tonight was just her and Sam's night. Yesterday she partied with old friends and new at the party Quinn threw for her, and then her and Sam came back and had happy drunk sex, which lasted into the wee hours of the morning. But Sam expressed that on her _actual_ birthday, he wanted to take her out. She told him she didn't want anything to over the top so he decided on going to Brittany's restaurant, _"Santana's_". Brittany opened it in LA once she and Santana broke up. She said it was her way of coping with the fact that Santana had moved on. To this day, Santana has no idea that the restaurant is named after her. Besides, she doesn't see anyone much because she moved to the UK for a while then came back and settled in Chicago. Mercedes barely hears from her, but from what she knew, Santana was doing very well.

Mercedes entered the empty restaurant to find Sam sitting there at the middle table. The whole place was filled with long stem roses and there were candles everywhere, that Mercedes hoped wouldn't burn the place down. Sam gave her his signature half smile and Mercedes made her way to him, every step of her black heel clicking hard on the floor. Right before she got to Sam, Brittany stepped in front of her and wrapped her in a huge hug.

"Cedes' I'm so sorry that I missed your party yesterday, once you came to my restaurant last month it's been getting busy! I don't know how to thank you." Mercedes pulled away from her and smiled.

"No thanks needed Britt, this place is amazing! You deserve everything you have. Santana would be so proud of you."

Brittany just nodded and said, "I'm not sure about that. But anyway, have fun tonight girl... I have a feeling it's a night to you'll never forget." Brittany walked away and Mercedes practically ran to Sam. He wrapped her up in a hug and kissed her ardently. She smiled and he pulled the chair out for her. She sat down and then he went to sit down himself, only to fall off his seat. Mercedes asked him if he was ok and he nodded. They sat and waited for their pre ordered food. Sam's foot was tapping hard on the floor repeatedly and sweat was forming on his brow.

"Sam... Baby, are you ok?" Mercedes asked. Now she was worried. Not only has he been secretive these past weeks, but now he looked like he was being interrogated by the police with all the sweat pouring from his face.

Sam watched her finish her entree and he said, "I... I'm fine babe, why do you ask?"

"Maybe because you're acting strangely? And I haven't seen you pour that much sweat since our three day sexcapade at your cabin... What's going on?"

Sam was trying to wait until their dessert came, but the way he was fidgeting and sweating made things impossible. He sighed and decided to just let it out. He'd been waiting a long time for this, she had won her first Grammy and now, Sam couldn't wait any longer. He wanted her to be his, forever. And he wasn't going waste anymore time.

"Mercedes..." Sam started, he took her hand and she smiled at him.

"Yes baby?" Mercedes replied.

"As you may know, I've been in love with you since high school... And after that. Even when we broke up before college and I was dating Quinn, you had my heart. I knew it, Quinn knew it. That's why she broke up with me. She told me that I was using her, because she reminded me of you, and I couldn't argue because she was right. Everything she did I was comparing to how you would do it; basically I was torturing myself... But when we got back together, _god_... the moment I saw you again I wanted to just pick you up and make you mine. But I waited, and waited. Until you chose me over that dick you were dating. Gosh I can't even remember his name-"

"His name was David, Sam. You used to call him David the Dick." Mercedes laughed. Sam hated David, and every moment he was with them he had made it very clear to her that he hated his guts.

"Right. Well, anyway... David had you and I didn't and there were times I wanted to just knock his lights out because of that fact, but when we got together again, it was like everything fell into place. We picked up right where we left off and as god as my witness I fell in love with you all over again. And now... I've waited two years, and a couple months for this, but it's worth it. You are worth it."

Sam pulled his hands away from Mercedes for a second to reach into his coat pocket. He pulled out a small velvet box and put it on the table. Mercedes clasped a hand over her mouth and quickly tears formed in his eyes.

"Sam..." Mercedes said through tears as she took in the sight of the small box.

"Mercedes Jones, you are my world. I've been in love with you since my junior year of high school and I'm still in love you. Never have I ever loved someone the way loved you." Sam sat up and got down on one knee and continued,

"... And I could ramble on about us and how much I love you, and how you are it for me, or I can ask you simply, Will you marry me?"

Mercedes laughed through her tears and Sam opened the box. The beautiful princess cut diamond ring shined in Mercedes' face. It wasn't huge, but it definitely wasn't small. It was at least 2 karats.

"Yes!" she said effortlessly. "Yes Samuel Evans you adorable, crazy fool I will marry you." he smiled wide and put the ring on her finger, then practically picked her up off the chair and held her in his arms, her feet not touching the ground as he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he held her tightly.

"I love you Mercedes. Forever and always."

"I love you, too, Sammy. Forever and always." They kissed again for what seemed like eternity before they both parted gasping for air. She smiled in his face and then Sam's eyes quirked up mischievously and he said, "Do you know what happens now?"  
The grin never left Mercedes' face as she cocked her head to the side and asked, "I'm thinking... We just got engaged sex?"

He kissed her lips and silently thanked her for reading his mind. "Did I mention I love you?" he said putting her down.

Mercedes grabbed her purse, kissed him and said, "You did, but now I think it's time for you to show me."

Sam smacked her ass lightly and told her to go wait in the car. She squealed and jetted out of the restaurant. Sam paid the bill then finally ran out to the car, making his way to his newly required Fiancé

* * *

_A/N: cheesy I know, but hey, sick Melle comes up with these things. Not me… lol_


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: chapter 14, as always if you don't like what happens please review and tell me things I can do to do make it better. Ok that's it, on to the horror show… lol**

_"Spiderman 3 was the worst of them all." Sam said to Mercedes as they laid on her bed, fingers intertwined, looking at the ceiling. Somehow, after going to the cheap movie theater downtown and watching a triple feature of the Spiderman trilogy Sam and Mercedes came back to her place, and ended having a discussion about the Spiderman movies. Mercedes conveniently pointed out that she liked Spiderman three the best, in which Sam refuted heavily, which lead to a minor debate about said topic._

_"I don't agree, I mean it had its faults but It was way better than the first one," Mercedes added._

_"Mercy... Are you kidding me? It had its faults? It was terrible... Especially the ending... Why the fuck was everybody forgiving each other? And Mary Jane's hair looked straight up orange."_

_"You are so silly!" Mercedes laughed heartedly and put her head on his chest. She watched him as he breathed in and out heavily, hearing his heartbeat._

_"Your heart is beating so fast Sammy." she said after a while._

_"Yeah... That always seems to happen when I'm around you." Sam looked down as she looked up and smiled. He reached for her chin and brought her closer and kissed her chastely on the lips. She kissed him back, opening his mouth with hers as her tongue swirled around his. They parted and she went back to laying on him._

_"I could kiss your lips for days... Do you know that?" she said to his chest._

_"I feel the same way... Sometimes it..." Sam stopped himself before he could finish._

_Mercedes lifted herself and scooted up the bed so that she was hovering over him. "Sometimes it... What?" she asked with a smile._

_He smiled back at her curiosity and brought her down to him so that their bodies touched. His hands rested on her waist and hers in his hair._

_"Nevermind." he answered._

_"No! Not nevermind! Sometimes, what? Answer me Sam!" she asked again, this time she pinched his taut nipple making him squeal._

_He rubbed his chest, laughed and then gave in. "Sometimes it scares me. My feelings for you scare me... Just the way you make me feel, when I'm around you, and when I'm not... It scares the shit outta me." he answered honestly._

_Mercedes looked at him in the eye and bit her lip before saying, " It honestly scares me too Sammy. Everything you just said and more scares me as well. Like I'm afraid of what could happen between us... In a good way."_

_"So... What do we do? About these feelings?" Sam asked her, while treading his fingers through her hair lightly._

_Mercedes moved her face so that their lips grazed, she pecked his lips gently before saying, "I guess we just... Let it happen."_

Mercedes broke out of her dream when she realized this wasn't Sam's lips on her neck, it was Shane's. He was kissing from her jaw to her clavicle and all Mercedes could think about was Sam. Beautiful, sweet Sam. It's been two weeks since she and Shane became official and to say things were heating up fast was an understatement. It was partly because Mercedes was so damn horny after losing her virginity to Sam and partly because she couldn't stop thinking about him. Shane was a good distraction. He was a great kisser, but Mercedes kept comparing it to Sam's kisses. The way he would just own her mouth, so sweet but deliciously possessive. When he would whisper sweet nothings in her ear while his large hands roamed her body. Mercedes felt like she was in tune with the entire universe when Sam would touch her.

Shane began moving his hands immediately to her ass. Like always. Mercedes didn't mind, she liked her ass, and apparently so did boys, but once again her mind went back to Sam. In the beginnings of their relationship he would ask if he could touch her ass. She thought it was so sweet and gentlemanly of him. Then after they got more into their relationship he would just grab it with both of his open hands when pulling her into his lap or onto the bed. The man had wonderful hands. Big, and calloused, strong and firm. Mercedes eyes rolled to the back of her head just thinking about Sam's hands on her once again. And with those thoughts she cried out, "Ohh... yes!"

Shane smiled against her skin thinking that he was the man. "You like that baby?"

Mercedes just nodded not opening her eyes. She could see him there in the darkness of the back of her eyelids, Sam still wanted her, he didn't move away and they were still in love. His hands were on her and his name was on her lips, as his hands roamed her body. _"My beautiful Sammy"_ she thought to herself.  
Before she said it out loud, she quickly opened her eyes and saw Shane reaching up to touch her boobs.

"How far do you wanna go baby?" Shane asked as he kissed the corners of her mouth.

"I... I think we should stop." Mercedes got up off her bed to go to the bathroom. Shane stopped her grabbing on her wrist.

"Hey... What's wrong?" he asked worried.

"I just..." Mercedes started. "I just need to cool down. I'll be right back ok?"

"Ok..." Mercedes wanted to walk away but Shane held on, she gave him a look wordlessly asking him why in the hell was he still holding onto her.

"Hey... You're my girl right? All mine?" Shane asked

"Yes Shane, I'm your girl... Why?"

Shane just shrugged and let her go. "Just wondering. Do you want me to have dream girls ready when you come back?"

That made Mercedes smile. She kissed him and said "Yes please." and then went to the bathroom.

Shane took out the DVD and put it in her DVD player and then went on her laptop. He looked through her photo albums, smiling at the pics of her. Then he saw one that said "S&M" on it and he clicked it, thinking it could've been something kinky... Maybe sexy photos of his girl in outfits she didn't show her parents. But the photo album was locked and he needed a password to get in. He tried but failed so instead he just went to Facebook. He logged in and looked through his updates and then finally, went to change his information.

He'd been waiting to do this for a while now, ever since she agreed to be his girlfriend. Today she finally confirmed it, so Shane was ready to tell the world, or at least all of McKinley. He went to "Relationship Status" and changed it so it said;

_**Shane Tinsley**__ is now in a relationship with __**Mercedes Divalious Jones.**_

* * *

_"Are you one of the dancers?" the red head asked him._

_"Umm... No I'm not... I got roped into coming here with my silly friend." Sam said nudging Brett in the shoulder._

_"It seems like he thought this place was something other than it was, right Brett?" Sam laughed and Brett put his head down._

_"That always happens..." said the redhead. "Anyway, I'm Carla, or as they call me around here, Dynamite." she extended her hand to Sam and Sam shook it firmly._

_"Well, it's nice to meet you Carla, but I think we'll be going now... Right Brett?"_

_"Yeah, I don't wanna see dudes flopping their dicks around... Let's go man."_

_They began to leave and then Carla yelled out "Wait please!" to Sam._  
_Sam turned around and so did Brett._

_"Umm yes?" Sam asked her._

_"Can me and you talk for a minute Suga?" she asked flickering her eyelashes at him._

_"If you wanted action you should've just went with me lady, this guy right here, is in love." Brett added._

_"What? Heavens no! I don't want him, but I do need him. It will only take a minute, please?" Carla begged._

_"Ok... I guess, hey Brett wait for me in the car?" Sam told him. Brett just nodded and exited. After he left Carla told him to follow her and Sam followed her all the way to her office. She told him to lock the door behind him and he did, then he took a seat._

_"So, umm if you don't mind me asking, what's this about?" Sam says._

_"Well that depends, first let me ask you, do you have a job?" she took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one and put it in her mouth._

_"Yeah. I uhh... I work at DQ." Sam answered._

_Carla blew out a smoke and laughed at him. "And... how much do you make at DQ?"_

_"About 8 dollars an hour... It's not much but it helps my family when we need it the most." Sam shrugged._

_"You having family troubles sweetheart?" she asked him._

_"Kinda, we live from place to place right now, but we manage... Why?"_

_"Ok look... I'm gonna cut to the chase, you seem sweet, and you have the whole boy next door thing down pact. But you also look like you got killer abs, and what I'm assuming is a very sizeable... Excuse my French, penis."_

_"Ok... That's inappropriate, I think I'm gonna go." Sam was so shocked by her words that he got up abruptly and put his hands on the door to unlock it. Before he could leave Carla said, "I'm not trying to hit on you sweetheart, I promise! What I am doing is, trying to offer you a job."_

_Sam turned around confused as hell. "A job? A job as what?"_

_"Sit back down and we can discuss it."_

_Sam sat back down and waited for her to continue._

_"A job... As a dancer. Here at Stallionz" she finished._

_Sam started to laugh at her. This woman couldn't be serious. "You're kidding right?"_

_"Does it look like I'm kidding Suga?" she asked in a serious tone._

_"Why would you want me of all people to work here?"_

_"Because you're cute, and look innocent. Women love that! And, you will spike my revenue up at least 30 percent... What do you say Blondie?"_

_"Sorry but, I'm gonna have to decline. Thank you for your time." Sam got up to leave again and once more Carla had to say something to keep him from leaving._

_"You would be making up to 1500 a week... And only 10 percent goes to the club."_

_Sam turned around yet again and asked, "Wait... really?"_

_Carla nodded. "With your looks and that rock solid body, you could be taking home 5 grand a month... Now I'm in desperate need of someone to fill my Friday and Tuesday slots. You could make big money, quit DQ and have your family owning a house in no time... What do you say?"_

_"Can... Can I have some time to think about it?" Sam asked._

_"Nope. It's either now, or never." Carla walked up to him and extended her hand out. "Blondie, do we have a deal?"_

_Sam looked at her hand for a second,_  
_contemplating. He knew it was wrong, but with that kind of money he could help his family, and save up to go back to Lima, and see her... Mercedes. He shook her hand tightly without a second thought and said, "Ok! I'll do it... Oh and the names Sam... Sam Evans."_

Sam got in from yet another day of Stallionz and once again he got into the shower. It was his first day as a private roomer and it was as disgusting as he thought it would be. The women were desperate and most of them were sad. Sam thought about meeting Carla that faithful day where he agreed to such stupidity. If only he would've said no... Then maybe he could still feel his conscience. Sam put on his boxers and got on Facebook. He checked recent updates. Nothing interested him, except for that fact that Quinn had a new hairstyle, and apparently a new tattoo. He always knew that girl was lost but it was now confirmed she was off the deep end. Then like always he went to check Mercedes' wall. She had some new pics up, cute ones that she took with her webcam. And then he saw it. The words on the screen that changed everything: "Shane Tinsley is in a relationship with Mercedes Divalious Jones"  
Sam read it once, twice, then five more times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He and Mercedes talked casually but she never mentioned having a boyfriend. And having one only a month after they broke up. "NO!" Sam yelled. "This can't be true... Mercedes... She still loves me... She would never do that to me."

An angry and not quite thinking straight Sam calls Mercedes. He waits... And waits... And then she finally picks up.

"Hello." she says.

"So... When we were you gonna tell me you were in a relationship? Before or after the wedding?" Sam jumps right in angrily.

"Sam... I'm sorry. I was gonna call you today and tell you. For what it's worth I had no idea Shane was going to put us on blast like that."

"I don't want to hear your half assed apology Mercedes!" he says yelling.

"Don't you fucking yell at me! At least I'm being truthful." Mercedes spat back.

"Oh, are you now? Were you also being truthful when you told me you loved me? Or was that also a lie? Cause it seems like you fell out of love really quickly."

"Shut up! You have no idea how I feel right now! What I felt for you was real Sam; we both know it was..."

Sam scoffed hard and said, "Whatever. I don't believe a word you're saying. And I think its best we don't talk anymore..."

"Sam..." Mercedes said. He could hear her tears over the phone, "Sam you don't mean that... Do you really want to stop speaking?"

"Right now? Yes. Look I have to go. Have fun with Shane; don't do anything I'm already doing!"

"Sam... What does that me-" Mercedes started. But Sam just cut her off.

"I think we both know what that means Mercedes. Now goodbye."  
Sam hung up and then threw his phone across the room. He heard it smash against the wall but he didn't give a shit right now. He turned off his light and closed his eyes. Hoping to god, for once he didn't dream about her. In fact in this moment he hoped he never saw her face ever again.

* * *

"What do you mean you're pregnant?" future Sam asked her.

"I'm pregnant... As in I'm pregnant? Like, there is a baby growing inside of me?" Mercedes said rubbing her belly.

"So... Who's the father?" Sam asked defensively.

Mercedes gave him a 'did you really just ask that?' face. "What do you mean who's the father? Do you think I'm some kind of slut that'll just let any guy come inside of me?"

"Well..." Sam began.

"Don't you dare finish that because I swear you'll regret it Sam."

Sam raised his hands in surrender and said, "I'm just saying, you're free to fuck who you want, and we both know that you get a little freaky when it comes down to the nitty gritty."

With that sentence Mercedes slapped him hard in the face. "Fuck you Sam! I don't sleep around! That's your department... Or wait, do you have to be married when you sleep around? Or does it matter if you have a ring on your finger or not?"

Sam clenched his jaw and felt his anger growing. Mercedes knew all of his buttons, and dammit she was pushing every single one. "I never meant to hurt you Mercy! I loved you! I still love you... You were my life! Emma meant nothing to me. Ugh! Here I was trying to get our family back together only to find out your having some others man's baby."

Mercedes was feeling her own anger rising. Sam was an idiot. Which is why she didn't tell him about the baby in the first place, and now she was coming to realizations. Maybe it was best to raise this baby alone. Even if Sam was the father, he didn't need to know. She could move away and lay low until her baby was old enough to want to know who her father was.

"You know what Sam... Whatever. I'm done! You don't have to accept me or my baby. I'm sick and tired of the back and forth between us, and I don't want to lose my baby from stress. It's not worth it. I'm not angry with you, not anymore, I still love you but maybe things between us are over. Maybe they've been over for a while now and we are just trying to hold onto something that just isn't there anymore?"

Mercedes picked up her dress and began to walk away. Sam grabbed her and pulled her to him. He wasn't letting her go that easily. She infuriated him, but he couldn't help it, he loved her. Always.

"Mercedes, please... I'm sorry. I'm an asshole... I just want a chance to love you again... And then maybe I'll get used to the fact that you're carrying someone else's baby."

Mercedes pushed him away and said, "You're not only an ass, you're an idiot! This isn't 'some random guys' baby Sam! It's yours! I'm four months pregnant. And exactly four months ago I had pity sex with you, and you got me pregnant you bastard!"

"Wait... What? The baby is mine?" Sam didn't know why but he started to smile. The thought of loving someone else's baby scared him, because he was afraid he wasn't going to be able to. But now that he knew it was his, his heart was rejoicing. This meant that him and Mercedes could start over, and have a family.

"Yes. The baby is yours. And I wanted to tell you so many times but-"

Sam cut her off," Cedes' it doesn't matter... I know now and the baby is mine. That means we can start over, as a family... You, me and the baby." Sam smiled and took her hands; she let him hold them for just a minute then she released herself once again.

"Sam... I want to raise this baby with you too but I don't want to get back together."

Sam's smile faded quickly. What was she saying? Why didn't she want to start over with him? "What? Why?"

"I meant what I said before Sam, I love you, but I'm afraid that if I give you my heart you'll break it again. And I can't take another heart break, not from you and not a second time. Now, we can raise this baby together, but not as a couple."

Sam just felt like she stepped on his heart with her expensive heel. And then threw it over the cliff. She didn't want him, he hurt her too bad. Sam hated that he understood that.

"So, can we do this Sam? Can we co-exist and be friendly for the sake of our baby?" Mercedes asked after he didn't respond.

Sam blew out a breath and held in everything he really wanted to say, could he do this? Could he just be friends with the woman he was still in love with? For her sake, and the baby?

Sighing he says "I guess we can try."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I don't know why this chapter is so sad, its maybe because I'm not feeling well or maybe because I'm sad about the news samcedes might not be together any longer… nevertheless this chapter is full of angst and for that I'm sorry… maybe it will get better. Some context before reading: a person asked a good question… why the hell isn't Sam using his dreams to his advantage? I guess it's because he doesn't really know how to comprehend them. He doesn't even know if they are just dreams or futuristic memories even though we all do… (dramatic irony) since he's not listening to what the dreams are telling him everything is going in the direction the dreams are… where they are divorced and Mercy is pregnant. But he has a chance to change them he just doesn't know how… maybe he will smarten up and use them to his advantage soon. **

**Also the dream portion of this is located at the bottom if you didn't know that already and yes it is another outer body dream.**

**Anyway on to chapter 15…**

Sam woke up the next day feeling incredibly numb. His conversation with Mercedes about her not so secret boyfriend had him so pissed that he barely got any sleep. He just stayed up thinking about her and he hated it. He hated that he still loved her even though she lied to him, and now has a new boyfriend. He stayed up thinking about her smile, her laugh, and their times together... _Everything_. Before he knew it, he finally closed his eyes at 6 am, only to be awakened by his mother. She shook him awake, told him he slept most of the day away. It was 7pm and Sam didn't even realize it. Sam thanked his mom and then crept into the shower, put on some body glitter and then made it to work with 20 minutes to spare. There were hardly any women there yet, except for a few stragglers. Sam went into the back, changed his clothes to his stripping gear and then was greeted by a smiling Carla.

"Hello white chocolate." Carla greeted him by his stripper name like she does all of the dancers.

"Hey Carla, umm... Where do you want me?" usually Sam was up for a nice banter with Carla about how their days went, but today he wasn't feeling it. Actually, he wasn't feeling much of anything. He supposed that was a good thing. If he didn't feel anything then he could stop thinking about her. Maybe the pain will go away if he pretended it didn't exist?

"Hey... Are you ok?" Carla asked. Sam was avoiding her gaze and had the hardest, coldest face on. He looked like he was on the verge of punching walls and bursting out in tears at the same time.

"I'm fine... So, where do you want me?" Sam asked again, this time with a forced smile so Carla wouldn't think anything was wrong with him.

Carla looked at his forced smile that didn't meet his eyes and knew that there was something brewing under Sam skin... But he looked like he wasn't ready to talk about it just yet, so Carla left it alone for now.

"Well, there is a woman in the private rooms, she specifically asked for you…. then I expect you to be back to the stage in about an hour, that's when the ladies will start filling the club up, today's Friday so you know those women are anxious to see their white chocolate."

"Right. Ok so... I'll see you in an hour." Sam walked away without a second thought. He made his way to the back of the club where the private rooms were and opened each one until he found someone waiting in room number 3. He opened the stall and saw a girl sitting there. She couldn't of been older than 24, her features were fair, she looked like she could be a teen, but all women get carded before they could enter the club.  
She was fiddling with her fingers and her eyes were drinking in Sam's flat abs through his vest. She bit her lip and Sam closed the curtain so that they were alone.

"Hi... I'm-" Sam started.

"No names. Just strip." the woman said. Sam did as she asked and removed his vest slowly as music entered the room. Then he popped his suspenders, and did a couple of body rolls to the beat. He moved towards her and put her hands on his body, and that's when she started crying. Sam turned off the music and sat next to her. She started to cry in his shoulder and Sam held onto her.

"Hey... Uhh is everything ok? Did you not like the dance?" Sam asked her.

She wiped her tears and looked into his eyes. "No! It was fine... You were fine. It's just..." she started to cry even louder now.

"You can tell me anything... I promise I'm here for you." Sam said trying to comfort the distraught woman.

"It's just... My fiancée... I caught him cheating on me... With my sister. They said they're in love, and they want to get married..." she sobbed.

_"Oh holy hell _" Sam thought.

"My friends brought me here to cheer me up. They told me about you... How sweet you are, and how beautiful your body is. Oh god I sound pathetic! No wonder why my boyfriend fucked my sister!" another bout of cries came out of her and Sam didn't know what to do or say. He picked up her crying face with his hands so that she was looking him in the eye.

"Hey! Don't beat yourself up! You are not pathetic! He is." Sam said.

"Please! You're just saying that. Look at me! I'm ugly." her makeup smeared down her rosy red cheeks as the tears flowed. Sam swished her auburn bangs out of her face and smiled at her.

"Have you looked in the mirror lately? Because I'm sure if you did you wouldn't see an ugly person. You'd see what I see, a beautiful, young woman. Who deserves more than being cheated on and lied to by the person you loved."

She smiled in his face and Sam was glad that he calmed her down. Without warning she gently reached forward and pecked his lips. Sam was taken aback but he didn't have time to think because her lips were on his again... And then her arms were around his neck. Sam quickly pushed her away and she immediately apologized.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so… so sorry!" she said repeatedly.

"It's ok... Don't worry about it."

"No! It really isn't... It's just, you were so nice and... I just didn't want to feel anything right now. You know how that is right? When you feel numb... And all you want is to do something reckless throw caution to the fucking wind, just so that you don't have to feel anything. Even if the moment is brief, at least the pain would go away... Temporarily."

Sam nodded. He knew exactly how that felt. The numbness he was feeling currently overwhelmed him to the point that he almost slept an entire day away. Even now, talking to this woman, who was nameless and crying on him about her emotional woes, all he could think about was Mercedes. Mercedes, his anger and his sadness. That was it. And no matter how he tried to fight it or not think about it, BAM! There she was. Maybe the crying girl was right. Maybe being reckless would help the pain... Maybe being reckless would make the thoughts go away?

"So what do you say...? Do you want to get reckless with me?" she asked him with a kiss. Sam didn't answer. He just pulled her thin lips to his and pressed their bodies together, hoping to god that being reckless would help him relieve the numbness... If only for a while.

* * *

Mercedes was cutting off the head of a teddy bear Sam brought her at the fair when Shane called. She'd been ignoring him for two days, because she was pissed about the whole Facebook blast he did last week. He was the reason her and Sam weren't speaking. He was the reason that Sam wanted nothing to do with her. She was so pissed that she 'killed' three teddy bears that Sam won her at the carnival. Even though she was pissed at Shane she was even more pissed at Sam. Actually pissed wasn't the right word, she was angry- no, vehement. How fucking dare he say that he wanted nothing to do with her? How fucking dare he? Mercedes decided if he didn't want anything to do with her then she sure as hell didn't want anything to do with him!

Mercedes ignored Shane's calls and his subsequent text messages. She got up threw the dismembered teddy bears in her trash can and then went on her computer. She opened her and Sam's photo album and hit "Delete" on the pictures. Of course the stupid computer said " _Are you sure you want to delete the S&M photo album_?" Mercedes sat there with her hand on the mouse; she couldn't believe she was contemplating the decision. She had her mind made up that she was going to destroy any evidence of the so called relationship. So why couldn't she press yes?

_"Just delete it Mercedes! Sam and you are done he made that very clear! He wants nothing more to do with you so forget him! He probably never cared anyway... It wasn't anything more than a summer fling... But what if it wasn't? What if it was real love and he is just hurt right now? NO! Stop trying to convince yourself that is was more than it was... Delete it!"_Mercedes quieted down her thoughts and decided to delete it when Shane texted her again. She considered that a sign from Jesus and decided to leave the photo album for now. She went to her bed and saw that Shane texted a picture of himself with a sad face that said please forgive me. She really wanted to stay mad at him, but honestly she couldn't. He was so sweet and he probably didn't mean it. So she decided to text him back.

**Mercy:**it's ok Shane... I'm not mad anymore. I forgive you.

**Shane:**:D! Really? Thank you so much baby... Does that mean I get to see my girl tomorrow?

**Mercy:**yes, Lima bean 3pm? :)

**Shane:**it's a date. Goodnight baby.

**Mercy:**goodnight. Xoxoxo

everything was going to be okay. Mercedes thought. Sam didn't want to be in her life so she can just get over it. And him. Well, she could _and would _try.

* * *

Sam knelt down on his bed... Right after his prayer he busted out into tears. How could he do that to Mercedes? Shane or no Shane he loved her. If she knew he had sex with a girl he barely knew in a strip club no less she would never speak to him again. He thought by doing it, it would help him get over her. Instead he felt so dirty that he stayed in the shower for an hour and his dad had to help him out. He was freezing cold and it took four blankets and a crying Stacy for him to pretend that he was okay again. In reality he was still numb... Numb-err than ever if that were possible. Nothing helped; she was still on his mind. His mom and dad tried talking to him but Sam gave them a half truth about him just being weary. They left him alone and his mind wandered back to Mercedes again and now in the worst way. He had to tell her. She needed to know. He picked up his phone and called her but it went straight to voicemail.

_"Hey! This is Mercedes! I'm not here at the moment; please leave a message at the tone! Bye"_

"Hey, Umm it's Sam. I know you might not want to talk to me right now, but... I umm I really need to get something off my chest... It's important. Please mercy... Call me back? Ok... Bye."

Sam laid down on his bed and closed his eyes. He hoped that she called him back. He hoped that she would be able to forgive him after he told her. Cause right now. He couldn't forgive himself.

* * *

She was sleeping. In his bed, with his shirt on. And a pair of boy shorts that were rising up into her butt. Her pregnant belly showing through his shirt as short breaths hallowed through her. She was so beautiful, Sam thought as he watched her sleep. Mercedes agreed to sleep over some nights whenever she was feeling hormonal or lonely. Of course she took over their old bed, making him sleep in the guest room, but that didn't stop Sam from coming into the room and watching her sleep. It's something he did while they were still together. He'd watch her sleep, and then wake her up with a kiss. She'd smile with her eyes still closed and then they would have incredible morning sex that would sometimes make them late for things. But those days are over. She was five months pregnant and she didn't want anything to do with him that wasn't related to the baby. Yes he loved her and wanted to be with her but she didn't feel the same so he had to let it go. No matter how badly he wanted to put a ring on her finger and call her Mrs. Evans again. Sam got sidetracked watching her, he was usually out of the room before she woke up but now she was staring him in the face with a confused expression.

"Sam... What the hell are you doing in here, and why are you staring at me?"

Sam thought quickly on his feet and said, "I just came to see how the baby was doing. The little guy started kicking as soon as I entered the room."

He put his hand on her belly and like clockwork the baby started kicking. Mercedes smiled as Sam added his other hand and the baby kicked harder.

"Ok... I'll forgive you for being creepy this time. But you need to stop calling our baby a he! You have no idea what the gender is yet."

Mercedes got up and looked at the clock she gasped and turned to Sam with her angry face on. "Sam! It's 12 in the afternoon! How dare you let me sleep so long? I have a lot to do today."

Sam got up off the bed and then picked her up. She squealed and protested. He carried her all the way to the bathroom where a bath was waiting for her. He put her down and she looked around amazed.

"Sam? What is all this?

"Well it was supposed to be a surprise... I called Tina and told her to cancel everything for the next two days. You need to relax mercy... You've been working hard, and I figured you could use a de-stresser. So today I'm taking care of you, and tomorrow I have a day planned for you and me."

Mercedes cocked her head to the side and asked suspiciously, "Hmm... What kind of day?"

"That is also surprise. Now... Off you go. Breakfast is waiting for you downstairs when you get done." before she could protest he closed the door made his way downstairs and left her to wash. Today he was going to take care of her. Whether she liked it or not.

Turns out she liked it. Sam didn't ask her to move once. He cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner for them, he cleaned up the mess, and whatever she needed he was right there. Mercedes always knew he was a good man, that's why she married him in the first place, but everything he did today took the cake. She was starting to wonder if he had a secret motive.

But her worried thoughts quickly faded as she lounged on the couch with him and watched bad romantic comedies.

"Oh my lord this movie is so bad!" Mercedes laughed.

"Yeah I second that, But you're the one who said let's watch it! I was perfectly fine watching those teenage girls getting killed by Jason." Sam added.

Mercedes scoffed, "Ugh! You and your horror movies... That's one thing I don't miss about being your wife."

Sam couldn't help but smile, she may not have liked it when he roped her into watching horror movies with him but she put up a good front because she loved him. It made him want her even more if that was possible. But he scolded himself mentally letting his mind know that they could never be that again.

"Hey! You used to love horror movie Monday's" Sam teased.

"Yeah... Right." Mercedes said sarcastically. Sam laughed and then she said,

"Can you please, just flip the channels and see what else is on?"

Sam did as she asked he flipped through their channels and absolutely nothing good was on. By accident Sam turned to playboy TV (which he added to his subscription once Mercedes and his divorce was finalized) and they both laid eyes on a woman getting pounded into by a guy with a very huge-

"Oh my god!" Mercedes and Sam screamed at the same time.

"His penis it's... It is so huge!" Mercedes yelled.

Sam quickly turned off the TV after he felt himself getting hot and Mercedes started eyeing him. She noticed how he reached for the pillow that was under her feet and she pulled it away from him.

"Sam! Oh my god are you turned on right now?" she laughed.

"What no!" Sam lied.

"Liar! You think after all these years I don't know your I'm turned on face?" she laughed at him again.

"Ok! Ok! So maybe I'm turned on. It's... Been a long time, sue me." Sam put his head down.

"How long?" Mercedes asked not believing him.

"Long... I don't know awhile."

She sat back against the arm rest of the couch and admitted, "Me too."

Sam just nodded, not really knowing where the conversation was heading. His dick was still semi hard and he really wanted to go upstairs and take care of it, but he promised Mercedes he would take care of her all day and according to the clock he still had two hours of pampering Mercedes to go.

"If you want to go upstairs and... Fix yourself you can Sam. I'll be fine." Mercedes said graciously.

"No. I made a promise and I intend to keep it."

"So you're just gonna sit there with a semi erect dick... Completely ignoring your needs for mine?" Mercedes smiled at him when he nodded.

"I told you I'm gonna take care of you and I meant it." Sam says.

Mercedes got up, moved down the couch and kissed his cheek. "Thank you." she rubbed his face and began to get up off the couch. Sam gently tugged her arms, pulling her back down. Before she could ask what he was doing he kissed her softly. It reminded her if their very first kiss, the way he stole her lips in the parking of his cheap motel he shared with his parents. She let the kiss happen, letting Sam take her mouth like he owned her lips, when he tried to add tongue that's when Mercedes pulled away.

"What was that?" she asked angrily.

"It was just a kiss mercy..." Sam said trying to calm things down.

"Don't do that again. Don't kiss me, don't touch me and _DON'T _watch me sleep. I meant what I said Sam I don't want you anymore. That hasn't changed."

"Are you sure? Because your words say no... But your body's says yes." he moved towards her trying it. Fuck it, he loved this woman and she was gonna be his whether she liked it or not.

She put her hand up to halt him and said, "I don't care what you think my body says. I don't have any desire to be with you. You cheated on me, I will never love you the same way again."

Sam had enough of her throwing that in his face so he yelled, "For two years I've been trying to tell you the full story about Emma and me... You don't want to hear it! You don't even know what happened!"

Now Mercedes was screaming, "Nor do I care! I don't want to her your excuse for cheating on me. You said you loved me you bastard! You broke our vows! So fuck you and your 'full story!' "She poked his chest as emphasis and then she pushed him away.

"I'm so sick of this mercy! I'm so sick of you and your deflecting. I'm just so fucking sick. It's been two years!" Sam screamed at him.

"Sam just stay the fuck away-"

Mercedes didn't get to finish her sentence as she collapsed to the floor in clutching her stomach in pain.

* * *

_A/N: I wanna ask you guys… should I go canon here and keep shanecedes together for the first half of the school year or have Sammy come back alittle earlier? Let me know… the angst is killing me!_


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So I wrote this the day after I heard the news of samcedes breaking up. Some people took the news with a grain of salt but I didn't. I was so sad I honestly thought about just not continuing this. But I figured that samcedes will live on through fanfiction even mine so I got my shit together and finally had the courage to upload it. But fair warning this chapter is even sadder (I believe) than the last. **

**Some context before reading: outer body dream galore… meaning this and the next few chapters will be just that. Oh and there's a samcedes face to face interaction in this (yay) but I don't want to say anymore cause I already see the imaginary pitchforks being thrown my way after you guys read. Anyway… onto the chapter.**

_"Hey, umm it's Sam. I know you might not want to talk to me right now, but... I umm I really need to get something off my chest... It's important. Please Mercy... Call me back? Okay... Bye."_

That was about the 20th time Mercedes replayed that message in a span of three days. She kept listening, yet she wouldn't call Sam back. She didn't even know why she wasn't calling him back, or what was keeping her from doing it. She just kept listening to the message, over and over. Letting her mind wander what he wanted to tell her. Her Sam thoughts were interrupted as she noticed the time. She looked at her phone: it was 3pm. Time for her to meet Shane at the Lima bean. Things between them were nothing but smooth sailing. She could already tell Shane cared for her deeply. He would listen to what she had to say, hear her sing whenever she decided to bust out a tune and he would tell her she was beautiful almost every day. She hated when he did that. It reminded her of Sam. no matter what she was wearing or how she looked, Sam would tell her that was beautiful, and if she tried to protest he would shut her up with a kiss. _"Ugh!"_Mercedes thought. She needed to stop thinking about him! To hell with what he had to tell her! It was him who wanted to stop speaking so Mercedes was going to end all ties with him, by any means necessary. And it all starts with her deleting the voicemail.

Mercedes listened to it one more time and then she pressed delete. This was one step forward to forgetting about Sam and trying to focus more on the present: Shane wanted her, he liked her a lot. And it would only be fair to him if Mercedes gave it her all too.

_Operation erase Sam Evans from her memory had commenced._

Mercedes made it to the Lima bean about 20 mins late. Shane of course didn't care he just said it was fine and kissed her. He got up to order her coffee and Mercedes smiled internally. The whole car ride not once did she think about he who must not be named. All her thoughts were on Shane and Shane only. Mercedes was proud of herself. She wanted to give herself a high five in public but that would be weird... And too _"Sam like".  
_  
_Dammit! _She said under her breath. Another Sam thought crossed her mind. Time to go back to square one. Shane came back with two coffees and he and Mercedes started to get into some light conversation... It was fine and a great distraction but then it took an uncomfortable turn for Mercedes.

"Hey baby... I got something fun to do today if you down for a Shane Tinsley good time" Shane said with a smile.

"If you're there it already sounds like fun... Where are we going?" she asked

"Well, there's a carnival in town for the last couple weeks of summer, and I was hoping you would go with me... We play some games; maybe go on the Tilt-A-Whirl? It's my favorite ride"

Mercedes choked on some coffee at the mention of carnival and "tilt a whirl". It was like god was playing a bad trick on her. She knew now that operation erase Sam Evans from memory was going to be harder than expected. Especially because of the memories of them that surrounded the town. _"Maybe I should just freaking move!"_Mercedes thought.

She sighed and then answered quickly, before she could even think about it she said, "No."

"What was that baby?" Shane said not quite hearing her.

"I said no. I don't want to go to any carnivals... They umm... They scare me? Yeah they scare me." Mercedes said.

_"Good save mercy... Carnivals scare you? I guess it's better than saying they remind you of your beautiful ex-boyfriend?" _she thought

"They... Scare you?" Shane asked with a hint of laughter.

"Yep! They do. So do you have anything else in mind?"

"Luckily... I do... I figured a carnival might not be your style... So, how about picnic in the park tonight... Just the two of us under the stars, eating and laughing... What do you say?"

Mercedes smiled; Yes, Shane Tinsley was a great man. "Ok... In our usual spot at the park down by your house?"

Shane shook his head, "Nope! I got a new spot... I'll pick you up at 8:30, sound good?"

"Sounds perfect Shaney baby." Mercedes reached over and kissed her loving boyfriend. Everything was going great, she had no complaints whatsoever. She and Shane drove home shortly after that. He let her out about two blocks down because her brother was home and he didn't like Shane one bit. He even told Mercedes he looked like he had ulterior motives. Nevertheless Mercedes kissed him goodbye, and told him that she would see him later, with a smile he drove off and Mercedes began walking jubilee down the street. Her life seemed to be going perfect; everything was slowly falling into place...

That is until she laid eyes on Sam Evans, who was sitting on the steps of her front door.

* * *

Three days he waited for her to call him back. He wanted to tell her, he needed to tell her, but she wasn't calling him back. He couldn't get his mind off of it. Off of her and what he did, he was so distracted he missed his mark while stripping and fell face first onto the stage. Luckily it was just practice, but he did have a nice bruise under his eye. Carla begged him to put on cover up but Sam refused, and it seemed to work because instead of making 60 dollars that day, he made 200 bucks. Sam's guess was because the women felt sorry for him... But he didn't care; the bruise was bringing in the dollars! By the end of the week and the third day Mercedes didn't call, Sam counted his money... In savings he had about 2 grand... But just this week he made 1400 dollars. After his parents told him that they didn't need help this week with rent or anything, Sam sat back and waited for his phone to ring. It was the third day he'd come home and done this... Just waited by the phone for her to call him. He had a lot to say, starting with that he still loved her. Then ending with that he hoped they could be friends after he tells her he slept with another woman. Sam sighed as the hours past with no call. She was ignoring him and for good reason. But if the dreams Sam were having taught him anything it would be that Sam couldn't live with secrets, Mercedes deserved to know. He wasn't going to be like his future self, he wasn't going to hurt her, even if he was hurting inside.  
Sam looked down at the money then at his computer. Without thinking he typed his mom and dad a note that they were going to surely be pissed about later. Then he put one single outfit in his duffel bag, put the money in his wallet and walked out the door.

If she wasn't going to talk to him, then he'll just have to tell her in person.

It took 3 hours for him to get to Lima. He got off the bus and headed straight for the Joneses. No one was home, except her brother who left in Mercedes' car minutes before Sam reached the steps. Sam just sat there waiting... He waited for a good hour before he saw her coming up her block. She wasn't looking forward, just absent mindedly smiling at the ground and bumping to her iPod. Sam's heart began to quicken at the sight of her coming closer. He loved that she was wearing dresses more nowadays; she had beautiful legs, that, even though they were short, they were also silky smooth. _Damnit!_ Sam missed rubbing his hands down those legs.  
She made it to the front of her house and stopped dead once she saw Sam. Her iPod fell to ground, and Sam bent down to pick it up. Thank god for iPod cases and screen protectors. He reached his hand out to give it back to her, but she hadn't moved. She just stood there, her mouth open slightly, completely shocked that the boy whom she was trying to get over was standing in front of her, in her doorway.

"Hey Cedes'" Sam said with a smile trying to break the tension he was feeling.

After he spoke Mercedes seemed to finally snap out of it, her initial shock wearing off as her expression turned from shocked to just plain pissed.

"What the holy hell are you doing here Samuel?" she crossed her arms in front of her and shifted her weight back and forth.

"I came to see you. Did you get my message? I have something important I need to tell you." Sam said.

"I got your message. I also deleted your message. Sam, you said you didn't want anything to do with me anymore, so why are you still blowing up my voicemail with cryptic messages?"

Sam couldn't believe she was being so distant. Yeah he said that he didn't wanna be friends anymore but he HAD this crazy thought after she saw him she would... Run into his arms and tell him how much she missed him. None of that happened; instead he gets a scowl and a whole lot of questions.

"Look, Mercedes we can talk about it inside, I don't want your neighbors to tell your parents."

Mercedes silently agreed and pushed pass him to unlock her door. She held it out for him and then followed him in. She motioned him to the living room where she sat down on the couch so they could talk.

Sam was fidgeting on the couch as he sat down next to her. How long had it been? Since he and Mercedes were in the same room? Or the same state for that matter? All he could think about was how pretty she looked, and how awesome she smelled. Like fresh roses and lilacs and vanilla... Sam could hardly keep his eyes from closing as he raked in her beautiful...

"SAM!" Mercedes screamed in his face causing Sam to open his eyes and look into her angry brown orbs.

"Yes?" he asked nonchalantly

"You said you wanted to talk... So talk." Mercedes was waiting. Why was he here? What did he want? What was so important that he had to come all the way from Kentucky, looking absolutely fine as hell to tell her something?

Sam cleared his throat and released his own hands. "No time like the present Sammy boy." he said to himself.

"Mercy, umm I don't really know where to start, I guess I'll start by saying, I miss you?" he smiled at her but she didn't smile back, she was listening inventively though, and Sam guessed that was a good sign.

"I wanted to talk to you... About a lot of things, the first being something I should've told you before I ever left, and... That is that I shouldn't of gave up on us that easily... I mean when you said, let's just end it I wanted to tell you _NO_! And things like, _we belong together, let's try long distance_. But... You were so angry with me; I feared that you would reject me or something... Silly I know. But still, I shouldn't of let you go Mercedes, because for me our time together was real and... I fell in love with you."

Sam looked into her eyes once more and there was tears forming. He didn't mean to make her cry but he had to get out everything he needed to say... So he kept going.

"I know I fall hard for girls and it ends up biting me in the ass, but I fell in love harder with you Mercedes, than I ever have with any girl…Where it literally ached when I wasn't around you, that's why when I found out about... Your new boyfriend I lost it. It wasn't over for me... It still isn't. And I want you to know that... I love you. Always Mercedes."

"Sam..." Mercedes said through tears looking in his green eyes. "Sam you can't say those things to me! I'm with Shane! You... You said that you wanted us to end whatever the hell this so I am! I'm trying."

She stood up in front of him, yelling. How dare he just come and interrupt her happiness? It was so like Sam to come back just when she thought she was happy... Just when she was trying to make him an afterthought.

"Mercy I'm sorry but you need to know! I can't... I can't live like this! I'm only 17 but what we have it feels like... Grown up love you know? The kind of love people write about! Tell me you don't feel the same way!" Sam stood up too, towering over her shorter frame.

"I don't Sam! Not anymore! You ripped my heart out before you left and I just want to forget! I want to be with Shane! I want to try to love him!" Mercedes screamed.

"When it comes to love Mercedes... You shouldn't have to try... It just happens." Sam plopped back down on the couch to calm himself. He didn't come here for fighting. He came here because he wanted to be honest with her, and he had to stick to his plan.

"Sam..." Mercedes said sitting back down next to him. "Sam, I can't love you... Not anymore. It's too complicated, I'm with Shane, please respect that."

Sam took her hands and intertwined their fingers. They both felt the spark jolting up their arms down to where their hands locked. It always happened whenever they held hands; it was like magic, someone telling them that even if they couldn't see it right now... They were soul mates.

"Mercedes, I... Didn't come here to make you choose between Shane or me. If you want to be with him, I won't stop you. I need you to understand though that you have my heart and... That won't ever change. But... I need to tell you something important."

Mercedes moved closer to him, fingers still locked and she said, "What is it Sammy?" Sam gulped and decided to just say it. It was now or never.

"Umm... After I found out you were with Shane... And after the bad convo we had I... I..."

Mercedes looked into his eyes and saw what he couldn't get out...

"You slept with someone else." she said sadly. Sam just silently nodded and Mercedes let go of his hands, got up and went to the kitchen. She went to the sink and started to wash dishes. Sam came up behind her quickly, turning her around to see that she was crying. She looked at him and then turned back around and continued to wash the same cup over and over.

"Mercedes?" Sam said to her, but she didn't answer.

"Mercedes please, turn around." he tried again. She didn't move, so Sam decided to be bold and he turned her around and pulled her into a hug. That was the breaking point for her, because she cried into his tight flannel shirt.

"I don't know why I'm crying I have no right to be upset... We... We aren't even together." she said trying to push away from him.

Sam held her tighter and said "I'm sorry baby." she pushed at him trying to get him to release her but Sam kept saying "I'm sorry" she finally pushed him away hard and went to the front door. She held it open and told him to leave.

"Get. Out .Sam!" Mercedes said.

"But... I don't want to go... Mercy, I'm sorry it was only once and it meant nothing. I love you, you know that right?"

"Please... Just please go? Please?" she wept. Sam could see he wasn't making anything better. He went to the living room got his duffel bag off the floor and then made his way to the door.

"I'm staying with Puck tonight then I'm going back to Kentucky in the morning. Please Mercedes just... Take care." Sam leaned over her, and pecked her lips softly with his. This was goodbye, he knew it, but he didn't want to come to that realization. But he knew she would never forgive him. And he had to be ok with that. The kiss was without a doubt the saddest kiss Sam was ever part of… she was kissing him back, but it wasn't passionate or hot and heavy... It was a peck but damnit Sam still felt something, and he knew she did too. He left right after that, tears in stung his eyes as he said goodbye to the girl he was madly in love with... _Forever._

That night he cried his self to sleep as he snuggled with Puck in his bed.

* * *

In the hospital Sam waited to hear the news on his wife- ex-wife's condition. He was pacing back and forth at the nurses desk... All he could remember was how she fell on the ground in the middle of their argument... The recent memory eating him alive.

_"Oh my fucking god!" Mercedes screamed as she clutched her stomach for dear life._

_Sam ran over to her and kneeled down. "Mercy! What's wrong are you alright?"_

_"Sam I'm in excruciating pain around my stomach... I... Oh my fucking god! It hurts." Mercedes was holding her stomach and rolling in Sam's arms._

_Sam was panicking... He didn't know what to do; he picked her up bridal style and laid her out on the couch then ran to get his cell phone. Immediately he called 911._

_"Hello... Yeah... My wife she's in excruciating stomach pain... She's pregnant... Yeah she's conscious but I'm afraid she might lose the baby..." Sam said to the operator._

_"SAM! Where are you! Ow!" Mercedes yelled from downstairs..._

_"Please... Hurry."_

Now Sam was in the waiting room as the doctor was checking on Mercedes. Sam couldn't stop blaming himself. They were fighting again because of him. He was a total jackass... How dare he yell at his pregnant ex-wife? His life was a fucking mess. Before Sam could curse himself out one more time the doctor came out and told Sam to follow him. Mercedes was lying on the hospital bed with her arms crossed and a pout on her face.

"I told you I didn't want him in here!" Mercedes said to the doctor.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Evans, but he is the father... He is every part of this as you are." Dr. Jensen said.

"Doctor, can you please fill me in?" Sam asked calmly, completely ignoring Mercedes attitude.

"Your wife was experiencing the first of many Braxton Hicks contractions... They usually do not come till later in the pregnancy even though the first signs of them are when she's about 6 weeks. But these were different... Brought on by stress. That's why your wife said it felt like she was dying. Stress can make them worse and way more frequent then they should be."

"I'm _NOT _his wife!" Mercedes exclaimed.

"Mercy will you just stop before you stress yourself out even more?" Sam yelled back.

"I'm stressed because I'm having a baby with my lying cheating ex-husband! That would stress anyone out!" her voice getting higher and blood pressure rising.

"You think I'm the stress pill? I'm having a baby with my bitter ex-wife, trust me Mercedes the feeling of being around you stresses me just as much." Sam spat.

"OK! That's enough!" Dr. Jensen stepped in. "Both of you need to understand something, if you keep doing this, you will lose your baby. And no matter what happened between you two, the baby needs you to be happy and healthy to survive. It feels everything you do. I suggest you think about that."

Sam and Mercedes looked down like they both had been chastised by their parents. "On behalf of Sam, we are sorry doctor" Mercedes said.

"Don't be sorry. This isn't about me. It's about your baby... You know what? Here" Dr. Jensen took out a pen and wrote down a number on a piece of paper then handed it to Sam.

"Who is Ian Adams?" Sam asked.

"He's a couple's therapist. And a damned good one... He's an old friend of mine; tell him doctor Jensen recommended you. Now you don't have to do this... But I suggest if you want to have a baby together you two need to work out whatever is going on between you two. So you at least can co-exist."

Sam looked at Mercedes once Doctor Jensen left; he came over and sat in the chair next to her.

"Do you think she's right...? Do we need therapy?" Sam asked her.

"I never thought we did. But I think she's right, we can't keep fighting Sam. It's not good for our baby. I... I don't want to lose our baby." Mercedes said rubbing her stomach.

Sam got up and placed his hands over hers on her stomach and he said, "Me neither, I know it isn't born yet... But I love him already."

"Me too." Mercedes stroked his hand gently.

"So were really gonna do this then? Go to therapy?"

Mercedes smiled unevenly, a page of she took from Sam's side smile book and said, "Yes... Well at least we can try."

* * *

**a/n: **_so do you hate me for what happened? Let me know. Oh and I took all your reviews about shanecedes into consideration. And next chapter will be a doozy. Sam is going to come to realizations, Mercedes and Shane are going to have a talk about something she probably should've told him already and the dreams finally help Sam out! Hooray for making connections right? Ok bye- __**Melle**_


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Ryan Murphy keeps breaking my heart, but Samcedes will always be my OTP and all I hope now is that both Mercedes and Sam are happy. **

**Some context before reading: short chapter, maybe it's just me but I'm so unmotivated but don't worry, for those who happen to like this fic I wont stop writing until I **_**honestly**_** deem it done. Anyway onto the chapter…**

Mercedes was completely broken. After Sam left she cried all day. It was now 9:30 and she decided to just try to sleep it off. But she didn't get much rest because Shane was blowing her phone up after just five minutes of closing her eyes. Mercedes didn't want to see him right now, so she shut her phone off and tried to go back to sleep, only to be awakened once again. This time it was to a loud knocking at her door. She got up after she realized the person wasn't going away. Mercedes made her way downstairs and saw Shane standing there with a distraught look on his face.

"Mercedes! Thank god!" Shane grabbed her to him and hugged her tightly.

She pulled away and asked, "Shane... What's wrong?"

"I tried calling you for an hour! You missed our date."

Mercedes slapped her head and then opened the door so he could come inside. They went into the living room and sat down on her couch.

"Shane, I'm sorry. I... I got caught up." Mercedes said to him.

"I was so worried baby. I called you at 7 to see if you still wanted me to pick you up no answer, then I called you again at 7:30, then 8... Over and over with no answer. I thought something bad happened! But now that I know that you are ok, you wanna tell me what you were doing that caught you up?"

Mercedes looked down at her hands as she played with her fingertips. What was she supposed to tell him? That she was arguing with her ex boyfriend? A guy Shane knew nothing about? Was she supposed to tell him that she cried knowing that Sam gave himself to someone else even though they aren't together? She didn't know what to say. But she did know that Shane deserved more than to be lied to. He deserved the truth about everything. And whether Mercedes was ready to tell him or not, it still needed to be said.

"Shane... There is something you should know... Something I should've told you before we started dating."

"I'm all ears baby." Shane grabbed her shaky hands and held them tightly. Mercedes loved that he was so caring. It was one of his best qualities.

"I... Haven't been honest about something..." Mercedes Began, "Shane, I was in a relationship before you, and no one knew about it... Not even my best friends. I wasn't planning on telling you, but I think you deserve the truth. I need you to come with me."

Shane just nodded, took her hand and followed Mercedes up to her room. Once inside she pulled up a chair next to hers near her desk and told him to sit down. She opened her computer, to the photo album she refused to erase and typed in the password. Once it was opened she showed Shane her favorite pics of her and Sam.

"His name was Sam. You know him from the football team. We- We were in a secret relationship for a while, and I loved him, but we... We broke up because he needed to move to Kentucky." Mercedes started to tear, but she knew she had to suck it up and finish what needed to be said.

"He came here today, and we argued and yelled and then he told me goodbye. That we weren't going to see each other again."

She closed her laptop in anger at her own words and went to her bed to cry into her pillow. Shane got up and sat beside her, he picked her face up so she could cry into his shirt.

"Baby... Why are you crying?" Shane asked.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Mercedes sobbed loudly.

"Yes you do... come on, you know you can tell me anything."

"Shane please... Just let it go okay? I told you about Sam because I didn't want any secrets between us."

"I'm not letting anything go! Tell me why you are still crying over some fool who you broke up with? What did that bastard do to you?" Shane said through jealousy and anger.

"He... He slept with someone else ok? Is that what you wanted to hear? That I'm heartbroken and confused and I feel like my body is torn apart!" she didn't mean to say that part... The word vomit slipped out of her mouth with the quickness, and now she knew she was in for her second argument of the day.

"Why are you confused and heartbroken? You aren't with this fool anymore! You're supposed to be with me! So what? He fucked someone else! It's not like you two are still dating." Shane huffed.

"Shane you just don't get it ok... I'm... " Mercedes stopped herself before she told Shane something that she wasn't ready to admit to herself or out loud anymore.

"You're what? You still in love with him or something?" Shane laughed at his own words until he glanced into her eyes and Mercedes looked away and didn't say a word.

"Oh my god! You're still in love with him!" he said it as a statement now.

"Shane... Please..." Mercedes tried to speak but he cut her off again.

"No! I don't want to hear it! How dare you Mercedes? How dare you kiss me and tell me that you want me to be your boyfriend and shit all the while you're still pining over some jackass?"

"Shane I tried to be with you! I did! Sam left me, we ended it way before we got together."

"So I was the fucking rebound guy? That makes me feel so much better!" Shane was livid now... Yelling at the top of his lungs. Luckily no one was home.

"You aren't a rebound! Shane I like you a lot. I care about you a lot." Mercedes yelled back.

"You like me, but you love him. What am I supposed to do, wait for you to fall out of love with him? Wait for you to realize that I'm the better man? Fuck that." Shane never cursed this much in his life, but this whole conversation was pissing him off to the max. How did they go from being a happy contented couple to her being in secretly with some white boy? Where did it go wrong? He asked himself over and over.

"Shane I don't know what to tell you right now. My mind... Is so jumbled. I'm a mess."

"How do you think I feel? I'm just finding out that my girl... The girl I'm falling in love with is in love with someone else."

"Wait... You love me?" Mercedes asked shocked... _Oh god_ this was worse then she thought, Shane was in love with her.

"I... I didn't mean to say that... Actually fuck it! Yes Mercedes I love you. I love you so much that I'm going to give to a chance to choose right now... Me or him?"

Mercedes didn't know how to answer that. She wanted to say _"You Shane!"_ but her heart was screaming "_Sam, Sam, Sam!"_

She tried to form words but she kept saying "I... I..." so Shane interrupted her.

"Before you decide you should know that he's gone Mercedes. I'm here. I want you... He left you, don't you see he doesn't deserve you? I'm everything you need in a good man... So what do you say?"

"I'm sorry Shane... I can't choose either of you right now." Mercedes finally spit out with confidence. It was the right choice. Right now she couldn't choose and Shane deserved more then a halfhearted relationship.

"You know what fine! Whatever. Stay here and pine over a guy who doesn't want you anymore. A guy who cheated on you! When you come to your senses, and stop acting like a child, I'll be waiting." Shane didn't say anything else. He just got up and left after that.

Mercedes just lay there, on her bed crying her eyes out for what seemed like the 100th time or the night. She went from having zero boyfriends to having two to having none in one summer. What else could possibly go wrong now?

* * *

_To: Mom and Dad,_

_I'm leaving to Lima today, something is broke and I need to try and fix it. Please don't try to call me or anything, I promise to be back by tomorrow._

_- Sam_

Sam's mom and dad must've read that message a thousand times. They were furious at Sam. How dare he just up and leave all the way to Lima, only leaving a note in his wake?

Sam came back in the middle of the day to find both his parents sitting at the table. They looked at him, their faces showed no emotion, but their eyes were cold and there was a hidden anger there that Sam could see was waiting to be unleashed. And he knew it was all directed towards him.

Before he got a chance to say something Stevie came up to him and said, "R.I.P bro..." and then walked away.

Sam came into the kitchen and took a seat at the table where his parents were. They were completely silent so Sam decided to get this over with.

"How long am I grounded for?" He asked them.

"Forever!" his father Mark yelled. "How dare you Samuel? How dare you just up and leave without telling us? We are beyond furious with you! You think you can do whatever the hell you want to do? Well not while you're living under my roof you won't!"

"Mark! Calm down please!" Mary Evans said to her husband.

"Mary don't act like you aren't as angry as I am about this!"

"I am... But please stop yelling or you'll wake Stacy." she put her hand over his to calm him and then turned her attention to Sam.

"Sam, do you have anything to say to us?" Mary asked him.

"No." is all Sam replied.

"No? You don't want to tell us why you went to Lima? Or what possessed you to think you can travel across states without us knowing?"

"I left you a note mom. I'm old enough to travel. I took a bus here and back, and I'm fine. You wanna punish me? Go ahead. Nothing means anything anymore. From now on there won't be any trips to Lima or otherwise. I'm sorry for doing it sir... And it won't happen again."

Sam's father didn't notice how sad Sam seemed, but his mom did. He looked broken. Like apart of him was missing. He hardly smiled anymore, he wasn't happy half the time but today was different; he looked morbid. Like being around him for five minutes could lead to imminent death.

No one was speaking. So Sam got up and decided to go to his room. His father just shook his head, disappointed in him as Sam walked away but his mom got up and went into his room. Sam was lying down on his bed, looking up with all of his clothes still on, even his jacket. Mary went over to his bed and sat down next to him.

"Sam... Why did you really go to lima?" she asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Sam said back.

"Samuel Evans don't shut me out... Talk to me."

"Mom! Please! Can we talk later?"

Mary sighed and said one word, _"Mercedes?"_ she said it as more of a statement than a question. She knew he was head over heels for that girl. She knew it before he even announced they were dating.

"It doesn't matter! She and I are over and I just want to forget." Sam spat.

"Sam, what happened? I thought you and Mercedes agreed to be friends?"

"I can't be friends with someone I'm in love with mom. It hurts too much. She doesn't want me and with good reason. Cause I'm an idiot. I screwed things up with her and now I'll never get her back." Sam picked up his pillow and tossed it across the room. Then he threw another one and more items before his mom took him in her arms and Sam started to cry.

"Samuel..." Mary took his face and held it between her hands. "Love is patient sweet boy. If you and Mercedes are meant to be together than you will be. You love that girl like your father loves me. I know you will be together again one day. I can feel it." She kissed his forehead and Sam closed his eyes. She hugged him once more and then left the room. Sam knew his mom was right. He was going to be with Mercedes again one day. He foresaw their future... But it's not how he wants to be with her. They aren't happy. Sam closed his eyes and hoped, prayed that his dreams would change. That they could somehow help him get her back... The right way.

* * *

The first couple of therapy sessions were awkward and bitter on both parts. Mercedes and Sam both hated talking about their relationship, and what happened between them. But slowly they were breaking down barriers with Dr. Ian and that was a good start. This therapy session started out no different, they were both quiet so it was up to Dr. Ian to break the ice.

"So Sam, Mercedes, how are we doing today?" He asked them.

"The baby is kicking a lot lately." Mercedes said smiling and rubbing your belly.

"That's good, and Sam? How are you?"

"I'm ok." was his response every session. Ian noted it down and then jumped right in.

"Ok well... Let's pick up where we left off shall we?"

"Can we please get to why I cheated? We've been here for two weeks and I have yet to tell my story." Sam said.

"Sam... There's a reason for everything I do. The reason we haven't gotten to that yet is because your cheating was only the cherry on top of the shit sundae you two served each other, which lead to your divorce... Don't worry. We will get to it, but for now... Let's talk about, high school."

"Oh god!" Mercedes groaned.

"Something wrong Mercedes?" Dr. Ian asked her

"No... It's just we were talking about that the last time we were here." Mercedes said.

"No... We weren't Mercy, we were talking about our first summer together, the summer we fell in love." Sam replied to her.

"Psh! Shut up Sam... You mean the summer you fell in love." Mercedes scoffed.

"Guys! What did we talk about? Honesty, remember? Mercedes, are you honestly saying you didn't fall for Sam that summer or are you trying to be spiteful?"

"Fine! I'll admit it... I fell in love with him! Better?"

"Better." Sam said smiling. She rolled her eyes at him but smiled back. Ian loved that. He could clearly see these were two people that were obviously still in love with one another.

"Guys we are moving on from summer... When did you two get back together? It was High school right? Sam you told me you broke up but you got back together. Please elaborate."

"It wasn't high school. We broke up that summer and I stayed in Kentucky. I came back to Lima after she graduated and found out she moved to LA along with my then best friend Puck. I started dating Quinn again and... That didn't work out well, Quinn would tell me things like "_Stop trying to make me her. I'm not her"_ and she was right... I saw Mercedes in Quinn. But she wasn't her... It hurt a lot. Because I was settling."

"And why were you settling?" Ian asked while taking notes.

"Because he thought I didn't love him anymore. Apart of that is true... I did my best to fall out of love with him... I had sex with Noah, I dated David.. I mean I thought I wasn't going to see him anymore, so I tried to forget." Mercedes said.

"So Sam, tell me, when do you honestly think you lost Mercedes? Was it when you cheated?"

Sam looked at Mercedes and then looked at the Dr. Ian. He answered, "No... It wasn't when I cheated that I lost my wife. I lost her before that... When I didn't fight for us, way back then... I just gave up, I stayed in Kentucky. I figured Shane would make her happy, I figured that she would be better off with out the screw up in her life. Maybe if I would've fought for us in the very beginning, things would've turned out differently."

"Yeah... Maybe." Mercedes agreed.

Before Sam could hear anything else he woke up. He couldn't believe what he just dreamt. He future self said he lost her when he was young... He stayed in Kentucky. He didn't fight for them originally. Sam figured this was the sign he was waiting for... He couldn't wait...

In the darkness of the night Sam came to the realization, "I have to go back to Lima."

_a/n: dont hate me! more to come...oh and i** never** do this but shameless plug: i wrote a new quamcedes fic that i'm going to be putting under sam/mercedes because they are endgame in it. i will rate it T but maybe it should be rated M. i don't know. but if you want to you can read it and tell me what you think? i put the premise on my tumblr if you want to know more about it. until next time- Melle_


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Has it been long since I've updated? No? Must've been in my mind then... Little bit of a time jump here, at first I went canon and to wrote this whole conversation between Sam and his parents about him going back to Lima and blah, but we all saw that already so I changed it. **

**I also wanted to shout out: Ladysnowsu and Alliecattie3 for basically becoming my new muses. Everytime I just want to take a break from this fic I read your reviews and it keeps me going. So a personal thank you for basically being awesome. Anyway onto the chapter!**

Sam finally made it to the Hudson-Hummel's house. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. Coming back to Lima wasn't in the original plan. In fact after his argument with Mercedes Sam decided to forget Lima and her altogether, but his dream became a sign that night and he knew that he couldn't ignore what he saw. He needed to try and fight for her, or else he'd end up still in love with his pregnant ex wife. So after a talk with his parents, and a private argument with his dad, they agreed to let him stay with the Hudmel's for the rest of the school year. With the exception that Sam checked in with them every weekend. It was an easy bargin for Sam, he would call his parents every weekend in exchange for a chance at being a kid again, being able to be with his friends again. Being able to see Mercedes again and Sam wouldn't of had it any other way.

Finn showed Sam to the basement. It was the cleanest basement Sam had ever seen. It didn't even look like a basement at all, it just looked like a really big room, furnished with a bed, a tv and a dresser and computer desk. Sam began unpacking his clothes when Finn excused himself with a phone call.

Sam was almost finished when Finn came back in and plopped himself down on Sam's newly acquired bed.

"Oh no... I don't need any help, thanks dude." Sam said to Finn sarcastically.

"Sorry man, that was Rachel, She's kinda my girlfriend now so when we have long conversations I need to listen to what she says now." Finn said clutching a pillow.

"That is usually how it works..." Sam repiled laughing. "What's Rachel going on about this time?"

"She's trying to have another glee club get together "party type" thing but she thinks people are still pissed at us about New York. Santana didn't even invite her to her party she had a couple of weeks ago."

"I don't think Santana didn't invite Rachel because she's still mad about New York, I think she just generally doesn't like her." Sam finished packing and sat down next to Finn.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, I'll tell her that it isn't a good idea." Finn was about to leave when Sam stopped him.

"Did you tell anyone besides Rachel, that I was back?" he asked.

"Not really, I mean I told Rachel and Puck, Puck told Mike and Artie. And I think Mike told Tina, who told Brittany and Santana."

"... And Mercedes?" Sam asked biting his lips. He didn't want Mercedes to know he was back yet. He was hoping he could surprise her, but knowing Tina, Mercedes probably already knows.

"Nah, I don't think anyone told her. Not even Tina, I actually haven't seen much of Mercedes this summer. I don't even know how she's doing. The last time I saw her was at San's party and she was wearing the hell out of that dress." Finn smiled to himself but then he looked up at Sam's face and he knew he must've said something wrong because Sam looked like he wanted to punch his lights out.

"She was wearing the hell out of that dress huh? I wonder what Rachel would think of that sentence? " Sam asked crossing his arms. Finn never even looked at Mercedes that way, and now all of a sudden he's saying she looks hot in a party dress? If Sam wasn't sure that Finn loved Rachel he would've charged Finn right where he stood and then punched his lights out for even daring to look at his woman.

"Ok! Ok! Don't rat on me to Rachel! she'll get all insecure and ask me if I prefer someone like Mercedes instead of her."

"Do you?" Sam asked generally curious.

"What? Umm... No, man what are you even saying? Be cool dude." Finn said staggering over his words.

"Mhmm." is all Sam replied.

"Whatever dude, I gotta call Rachel and tell her to cancel this party, I'll see you later, oh and Kurt is dying to see you. He'll probably be down here soon, that is if he can un-attach Blaine's lips from his."

Sam laughed and said, "Well I can't wait to see Kurt either, but I gotta go do something first. Oh and by the way, I don't think you should tell Rachel that the party isn't a good idea, I mean it would be great to see our glee club peeps before school starts, even if San doesn't come, I bet the rest will."

Finn smiled and nodded his head and then exited. That's when Sam got up and changed his clothes. He had somewhere to go, and that somewhere was Mercedes' house. He hoped she didn't know he was back yet. He wanted to see her surprised face and he needed to talk to her about some things before school started. He put on the sexiest, tightest black shirt he could find, and his tight black jeans that did wonders for his little butt. He messed up his hair to look like he wasn't trying, and then he went upstairs to ask to borrow his car, and soon he was out the door, off to see the girl he was in love with, who happened to still be in love with him, who had another boyfriend.

* * *

Everyone had a damn secret all of a sudden. Mercedes deduced while talking on the phone with Tina. Tina called her to ask if she was going to Rachel's party and Mercedes asked who was gonna be there, in which Tina repiled "Oh you know, the usual, all the glee club members... And others..."

So Mercedes asked her what she meant by that and Tina just said that she would have to come and see. Artie said the same thing when Mercedes called him. So did Puck. It was like "Keep secrets from Mercedes day." and it was pissing her off. Who could possibly be coming that they didn't want her to know about? The only person she could think of lived all the way in Kentucky, and she knew he wasn't showing his beautiful face in Lima anytime soon. Why would they want to keep Sam coming to the party a secret from her anyway? The only one who knew about them was Tina and Quinn... Oh god! Mercedes worse fears were coming alive. What if Tina or Quinn said something to someone about Sam and her? No, they wouldn't do that... Would they?

Mercedes mind was running a mile a minute thinking the worst. She decided she was gonna text Tina instead of just worrying over nothing.

Mercedes: Hey girl! I was just wondering, you never told anyone about Sam and I... Right?

Tina: ... Don't be mad! I may have told Mike. :(

Mercedes: I'm not mad that you told him. You told me you were going to, but you didn't tell anyone else right? Pls say no.

Tina:... No, but, Mike may have! Again don't be mad!

Mercedes: TINA! You promised no one else would know!

Tina: I'm sorry! Mike only told Artie! Artie told puck but puck already knew... No one told Finn or Rachel, but Puck told Brittana. :(.

Mercedes: How the hell did Noah find out? & great! Know everyone knows... Thanks alot tina!

Tina: Cedes' please don't be mad at me! Only us glee clubbers know! We promise to keep the secret!

Before Mercedes could send Tina back a very long angry text her doorbell rang. She ran downstairs in her PJ's to answer it. Wondering who the hell would be ringing her doorbell at 8:00 at night... Low and behold standing before her, looking like he just got done with a photoshoot for GQ was Sam Evans in the flesh.

"Hey beautiful." Sam said leaning against her door. "Can I come in?"

* * *

When Sam got back from Mercedes' house that night things weren't looking so glum after all. Of course, they had a heated argument, followed by a slap to the face... But he let her know his intentions. He laid down the foundation to his plan to get her back. He laid down in bed, smiling to himself, going to sleep knowing that he was one step closer to getting the love of his life back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X

"... And she told me, that she would ruin my career and my marriage if I didn't... Sleep with her whenever she wanted. At first, i thought I was doing it to save my marriage, when actually I ended up destroying it." Sam said to Dr. Ian sadly. They were talking about the reason behind Sam's cheating and Dr. Ian looked over to Mercedess constantly and saw her agitation. He knew what she was feeling, the pain was plastered all over her face, but he also knew she needed to hear this so that it could heal them both.

"I don't want to hear about this!" Mercedes spat angrily.

"And why not Mercedes?" Dr. Ian asked.

"Isnt it bad enough that he cheated on me to begin with? Why do I have to hear the details of it! I don't care! He cheated on me, and that's that." she looked down and rubbed her belly.

"Cedes' I've been trying to tell you why I did it for two years, you won't listen! I didn't do it because I stopped loving you. I NEVER stopped loving you. I did it because that bitch blackmailed me. Don't you get it? You are always going to be the only woman i ever truly love. No one else does it for me. No one else will." Sam said feining tears.

"Sam I don't care if she was blackmailing you! You should've trusted my love for you in the first place. I would never cheat on you and for you to even think that, for you to go and fuck another woman repeatedly makes me hate you. I forgave you a long time ago, and I want to have a civil relationship when it comes to us being parents, but I don't want to be with you. I can't be with you anymore! You were my first, you told me that you would never hurt me and that's all you've done since we started dating all those years ago! Hurt me! I'm done being hurt by you! I will never be with you again."

Sam looked into her eyes, with his now red, puffy green ones and said, "If you don't want me what the fuck am I doing here then?"

Dr. Ian saw this as a time to interject so he did. " Guys, please I know you are both hurt by this but don't say things you don't mean to eachother. Mercedes I know you are hurting emotionally by Sam's cheating. But I need you to stop attacking Sam and talk only to me. Tell me honestly: does it hurt more knowing that Sam cheated because he was your first love? Or is it more to it than that? Tell me."

"It hurts more. Sam was the first guy I loved, the first guy who I had sex with, I gave him all of me and... It's like I didn't matter anymore. Like my love wasn't enough. I would never hurt him, but when he hurt me... It closed me off for good. I wasn't enough so he got it somewhere else." Mercedes answered through tears.

Sam got up and took her hands and said, "You know that's not true Cedes. It was enough! It is enough! YOU are enough. I was insecure and stupid and I lost you again. But I never loved her. I never loved any woman they way I love you."

Mercedes pushed him away. " Sam... Please just... Stop! Don't tell me you love me."

"Mercedes, I love you. I will always love you. I will always BE in love with you." Sam said again moving closer.

"No.. You don't! You can't." she said looking into his eyes.

"I love you." he said with a kiss to cheek. "I love you" he said again with a kiss to her belly.

"I love you." he said a final time, before taking hers lips with his and kissing her passionately.

Dr. Ian watched as they kissed and then excused himself quickly after. He knew they still had a long way to go, but this was definitely the start they needed to getting back to where they began.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I don't even know what this is... But it's all my mind spit out. I apologize in advance if it doesnt make any sense.**

"_Hey Beautiful." Sam said leaning against her door. "Can I come in?"_

_"S-Sam... What- what are you doing here?" Mercedes asked stunned. What they hell was Sam doing back in Lima? After the last time he came Mercedes was sure she'd never see him again. Now here he was looking like pure sex smiling at her, leaning a against the door._

_"I'll answer all your questions and more if you invite me in?" Sam's smile never left his face as he pushed past her without waiting for an answer._

_Mercedes finally shook her head to get out of her seemingly stunned state and closed her front door. Sam went straight to her kitchen and opened the refridgerator and took out a bottle of water._

_"This isn't walmart you know, you can't just come in and take whatever you want." Mercedes said following him into the kitchen._

_"Oh I beg to differ mercy, in fact it was your own mother who said that whenever I'm here I can have whatever I want... And I'm parched." Sam opened the water and drunk it down quickly with an "Ahh" leaving his lips once it was finished._

_"What are you doing here Sam?" Mercedes was getting tired of his games. She needed to know why the hell he was in her house, and why the hell he was back in Lima._

_"I came to see you, Mercy, we need to talk." Sam answered finally._

_"We talked already, we even said goodbye. What is it that you want from me?"_

_Sam sighed, why must she always have her guard up around him? Having a conversation with Mercedes was like chewing on pearls nowadays. She kept trying to conclude it every chance she got. Sam wished it was like the beginning of summer again. Where they laugh and kissed and didn't have a care in the world. All he had was memories now, and that sucked big, hairy balls._

_"I know that you're still mad at me for what I did, and I didn't come here for an argument honestly... I only came to tell you that I moved back to Lima."_

_Mercedes didn't want to show it on her face, but her insides were fluttering... Sam moved back? Did that mean they he's gonna stay for good? Did that mean hope for- NO! She wasn't going to go there. She couldn't get back into a relationship with Sam when she knew how Shane felt about her. Even though Shane basically broke up with her, and Mercedes was single, Shane had admitted to loving her and she just couldn't make this whole fucked up situation worse then it already was by jumping into a relationship with Sam again._

_"You.. You moved back to Lima? Permanently?" She asked a little too giddy. "Where are Stacy and Stevie?"_

_"No! I should've been more clear, I umm moved back for this school year. I mean Finn and Puck... And you are all gonna be gone next year and I convinced my parents that I should come back to spend it with you guys."_

_"Hmm... So, where are you staying?" Mercedes asked._

_"With Finn and Kurt. It's just until the school year ends and then I dunno, I'm taking it one day at a time." Sam sat down at the kitchen table and Mercedes decided to take a seat next to him. Silence fell over them for awhile, Sam started at her hair, and clothes noticing that it was only 8 and she was already in her PJ's. Meanwhile Mercedes was staring at his hands, she almost forgot how big they were, and then she started to remember that time they were in her forbidden area and she looked away blushing. Sam, as if he was reading her dirty thoughts, smiled at her. Finally she broke the silence._

_"Sam... I- I'm not mad at you, for what happened in Kentucky." Mercedes said looking into his green eyes._

_"You're aren't?" Sam asked confused. She sure as hell seemed mad the last time he was here._

_"No, I'm not.. I admit I was sad, but we aren't even together... So i knew i was just overreacting... I wanted to be mad i really did, but even when I tried I just... couldn't bring myself to stay mad at you."_

_Sam shrugged and said, "It's probably my southern boy charm and baby, I ooze it."_

_Mercedes laughed at that heartedly and slapped his chest. "Boy you are a mess!...But i admit I shouldn't of even been sad, I mean, I was with Shane and-"_

_"Wait... Did you say was?" Sam asked cutting her off._

_"Yeah, oh umm he broke up with me." Mercedes looked down sadly. Sam just wanted to comfort her, hold her in his arms and tell her that Shane's a dick but instead he went the safe route and asked, "Why?"_

_"Lets just say we were both keeping alot of secrets. I kept something from him about... You, and he now thinks that he was just a rebound."_

_Sam kept silence but in his mind he thought "That's because he is."_

_Mercedes continued... "...And he was too good for me anyway. I mean, who would want a girl who is-" Mercedes cut herself off and tucked her lips inside her mouth, before she said something she regretted._

_"A girl who is what? Beautiful? Smart? Amazing?"_

_She got up and folded her arms in front of her, feigning innocence. "Sam- Stop."_

_Sam got up right after her and shook his head no. Mercedes started to back away from him noticing he was coming right towards her and didn't realize she backed herself into a wall. Sam trapped her against it with both his hands on either side of her face, on the wall._

_"I think I know what you were going to say Cedes" Sam said as his green eyes grew darker with each word. "You were going to say, a girl who is still in love... With me." his face was so close to hers that they were basically sucking in each other's breath._

_"Sam... I.. I'm not..." Mercedes didn't get to finish her sentence because Sam's oh so beautiful mouth was on hers. She began to kiss him back, and his tongue slid across her bottom lip begging for entrance. She opened her mouth and their tongues intertwined, both of them getting lost in a taste of each other they haven't experienced since their breakup. His hands found her waist and his gripped it tightly. Hers, found his shirt and did the same._

_Mercedes was lost in herself and Sam. She hadn't been kissed this good in a while. Sure Shane could kiss, but she felt something with Sam that she hadn't felt with him... Sparks, was the only way to describe it. Like someone lit a match under both of their skins whenever they were around each other. Sam's hands moved under her tank top now, she could feel him trying to reach her breasts. Damn him for having the best feeling hands she ever felt on her body... But no- this couldn't happen like this. Sam and her had too many problems, they couldn't get back together. It couldn't be this easy. It SHOULDN't be this easy. So Mercedes did the only thing she could think of that would make him think any other thing besides the fact that she still love him. She pushed him away hard and slapped him in the face._

_"SAM get out!" she yelled, trying to sound angry._

_"You know you still want me Mercedes. Stop denying it... and we could be together." Sam said back._

_"No! Just no! I don't want you! not anymore! So from now on just do me a favor and leave me the hell alone!" she cracked open the door for him and stood there, like she did so many times asking him to leave._

_"I'm not giving up Cedes... You know I won't. Now that Shane is out of the picture I want you to know I will stop at nothing until you are mine again, and this time... I'm not going to let you go. Even if you want me to, i'm going to still be there: hugging you, kissing you, sexing you, and loving you until my dying day. You can count on that Miss Jones." Sam winked at her and then left. Mercedes slammed the door behind him, she couldn't believe Sam's audacity! Talking nasty, kissing her possessively? With confidence she never seen before? Swag? Who was this new Sam? More importantly why was she so turned on by it?_

* * *

Sam never realized how awesome it was to be back in Lima until he was at Rachel's party with his fellow Glee clubbers. The drinks were flowing, bad karaoke was being played and sung by the hostess herself. Everyone came, even Mercedes who did nothing but give him the stank eye the entire night. Even when he tried to say hi to her, she just ignored him and talked to Santana who was oddly becoming her best friend.

Sam sat on the couch and sipped his red solo cup, glaring at Mercedes who got up to use the bathroom. Once she left Santana made her way to him. Her legs looked wobbly. Must've been from the alcohol consumption.

She plopped down next to him and said, "Hey Juila Roberts, Dont tell anyone I said this but I'm so glad you're back. This way I don't have to open cans with my hands anymore. I have your beautiful fish lips back in my vicinity! Yayy!" She clapped lightly.

"Good to see you too Santana." is all Sam repiled.

"Aww don't be a poor sport... I was only kidding."

"I know." Sam said taking another sip.

Sam ignored what she said next, all he kept doing was looking at the steps waiting for Mercedes to return. Santana noticed he wasn't listening. All he kept doing was staring at those damn steps, so she said something she knew would catch his attention.

"You know you won't win her back by suffocating her right?" She exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" Sam said back.

"Mercedes... You're waiting for her to come back downstairs so you can stare at her some more? Right? Sam come on, the entire club knows you two had something before you and your family hopped into your mouth and ran off to Kansas."

"Kentucky." Sam said correcting her.

"Whatever, the point is fish face, is that Mercedes needs time to heal. Shane totally broke her heart by ending things so quickly. And you broke her heart by leaving her just when she was falling in love with you."

"She wasn't the only one who fell in love you know, I did too. And what makes you think I'm not hurting? My heart is broken too."

"I get it, I know how you feel. Trust me, I do. But giving her the cold I want you so badly stare isn't going to make her decision any easier. Shane may have broken up with her, but he also told her he was falling in love with her. So she's torn. Give her some time Sam, let her figure out who she wants. Without Shane blowing up her up and without YOU going over to her house and molesting her."

"What?" Sam said bug eyed. "I-I didn't molest her... It was a kiss, I can't believe she told you."

"It was a molestation. They way she described it... So maybe you should cool it, give her some space. Let her sort her shit out. In the end, if she chooses you, then fine. But if she chooses Shane, you have to be okay with that too. It's her choice Sam. You can't force it."

Sam knew Santana was right. Mercedes needed time to think for herself. He feared that she might choose Shane, but that was just something he'd have to deal with if it happened. It would hurt because he loved her, but everyone always says, if you love something let it go. That's what Sam had to do... He had to completely let go. Just be her friend without laying it on too thick. He could do that right? Be her friend? He was before... He was sure it wouldn't be a problem, as long as he kept his feelings in check he could do it. Or at least he thinks he can.

After the party dewindled Sam was finally back at the Hudmel's and in his new bed. He looked over to the dresser where the picture Mercedes gave him stood. Taking it off the mantle, Sam admired it in his hands. He couldn't help but reminisce about the good days between them, before everything turned in shit. The moments when she used to smile at him instead of scowl, the moments when she used to fall asleep on his shoulder while watching a movie. The moments when they kissed and Sam couldn't feel anything else except his heart fluttering and her lips on his. He so desperately wanted her back. The way she loved him, they way he loved her. He wanted it all back.

He sighed, closed his eyes and hoped he could deal with his decision to just be her friend. He just kept telling himself he could do this. Even though he knew, he couldn't.

* * *

Sam and Mercedes didn't know whether to regret the decision they made last night or consider it a blessing in disguise. They sat down, away from each other on the couch in Dr. Ian's office. Dr. Ian was running a little late, but he got there in time for their session. Once inside he sat down with his pen and notepad and began.

"Sorry I'm late... Even therapists have personal problems!" Dr. Ian joked.

Sam and Mercedes both laughed lightly. Never once looking at each other. Dr. Ian noticed the tension and he probably guessed it had something to do with how their last session ended.

"So, how is everyone today?" he asked them both.

"Fine!" they both answered at the same time.

"Mercedes, how's the baby?"

"Actually Sam and I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. To find out the sex." Mercedes smiled.

"That's wonderful... Isn't it Sam?" Dr. Ian asked him.

"Yeah, I can't wait until I see my son!" Sam smiled wide.

"And just for tortures sake, I can't wait to hear from the doctor that it's a girl." Mercedes teased him. Sam scoffed at her with humor in his voice. Dr. Ian rejoiced. This is what he wanted, to loosen them up and dial down the obvious tension in the room.

"So guys, let's jump right in, shall we? Mercedes, Sam our last session was full of tears, breakthroughs and tongue kisses. Can you guys tell me what happened after the session ended?"

"We..." They both said at the same time.

"You say it." Mercedes said to Sam.

"No, you say it." Sam said back to her.

"Somebody say it!" Dr. Ian interjected.

"Fine... Umm after our session things were going well and, we planned on having a nice dinner, and a nice chat... But..." Sam started

"But?" the therapist asked.

"But... We had sex. There i said it!" Mercedes yelled.

"Interesting.." Dr. Ian said writing it down in his notepad.

"What's interesting?" Sam said mocking him.

"Well, Mercedes you say that you could never love Sam the way you used to, yet this is the second time that you've had sex with him after divorcing. And Sam, you say you love Mercedes but yet you don't realize that by not talking and just getting down to the physicalities of your relationship proves... You want a physical relationship with mercedes yes, but is that all there is?"

"That's not true!" Sam spat. "We didnt have sex! we made love and it's because I love her. If I just wanted sex I couldve called a hooker. I want mercedes, ALL of her, like I had back then. We were happy once... She loved me and I screwed it up. All I'm doing is sitting here and trying to make admends, trying to forgive myself for letting go the brightest thing in my life. It's never just about sex when we make love, Mercy and I. It's always love making. I love her."

"But does she love you? She told you Sam, countless times she doesn't want you anymore, why do you come back?"

"Why are we talking about me like I'm not here? I do love Sam, we sleep together because we try to fight that fact. It's easier for me to say I don't love him, than to actually LOVE him. If I love him again, he'll hurt me. That's why I push him away constantly." Mercedes added.

"I promise I won't hurt you again Mercy." Sam said to her.

"You said that too many times Sam. I can't do it again. I won't."

"And folks... we are back to where we started." Dr. Ian said. "But this time I have a plan. And you can't even thank me for this. I seriously stole this from sex and the city, but it's worked with 75% of my couples. I want you and Mercedes to not talk for the next week. And while you are NOT talking I want each of you to make a pros and cons list of the things about each other you may love or hate. At the end of the week we will review."

"What if the cons outweigh the pros?" Sam asked.

"Then you have think about it... Now you and Mercedes have different situation from my other couples, because she's having a baby. But if at the end of the week, both of your lists have more cons than pros you need to ask yourselves, is this a relationship worth staying in? Am I doing it out of love or convenience? And the most important question: is this relationship a toxic one? If the answers to those questions aren't what you thought they would be at the end of next week... You two should think about co parenting, WITHOUT being with eachother."

Sam and Mercedes both looked at eachother with fear in their eyes. Could their relationship be too toxic to sustain? Was it worth staying in? More importantly was it love they both felt, or nostalgia?

The only thing they could do now was wait. At the end of the week they soon would both find out whether it was truly love anymore, or just obligation.

* * *

a/n: who do you think has the more fucked up relationship? Present Samcedes or Future Samcedes?


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: remember back about ten chapters ago when I was gonna end this? *troll face* now ten chapters later and I'm about to say the same thing. Ladies and maybe gentlemen, idk if guy's read fanfiction, let alone mine. But soon this fic will be coming to an end, I don't exactly know when, but I have a feeling it's gonna be soon. **

**Anyway, I guess I should tell you there is a return of Shakespearean!Sam but its tiny. But if you do understand what he meant let me know! I'll bake you cookies. I don't know how you would get these cookies though… Unless you live in Narnia, where I currently reside. **

**I'm rambling… onto the chapter batman!**

"Okay Sam! You can do this!" Sam said to himself as he entered the halls of McKinley. It was the first day of school and he was anxious, nervous and excited all at the same time. It wasn't his last year but it was Mercedes' and he didn't want to screw it up. He wanted so badly to enter her senior year as her boyfriend/sexy man candy but fate got in the way and now he can't bring himself to go near her without his heart pounding in his chest from want. He agreed to let her figure her stuff out while he tried his best to be her friend. He even went so far as to invite her over to spend time with him at Finn's house... Just to watch movies and be friendly. Kurt was even going to be there, that was Sam's choice. He needed a cock blocker in the room just in case he got into one of his _"I'm just gonna go for it" _kinda moves. Blaine was invited too just in case Kurt wasn't enough. She came; they all laughed and talked like friends. No talk of their relationship or their problems. It actually kinda felt good, it reminded him of where they started. As friends, nothing more. Nevertheless she left that night with a smile on her face, and Sam knew it was mission accomplished.

Now, back in the halls of McKinley, Sam sought out the familiar faces he'd come to love the past year. First it was Finn and Rachel who were sucking face as usual. Then Mike and Tina gave him a wave and a _"See you in glee club!"_next was his bro and the best snuggle partner ever (besides Mercedes) Puck who hooked an arm around him and they began to walk the halls together.

"Looking fly man!" Puck said to him.

"Thanks, you too dude." Sam replied.

"So first day of school... Did you see Quinn? I mean I thought I was crazy with the Mohawk but... How do I put this? She's got pink hair, a nose ring and a tattoo of Ryan Seacrest."

"Well, Quinn's been through a lot, she's probably going through a phase. It's best if people just leave her alone for now. I know I'm steering clear of mount Quinn Fabray until she erupts from her own realizations and ultimately dyes her hair back blonde, rejoins the glee club and becomes happy again." Sam says.

"Wait... How did you know she quit glee?" Puck asks.

"Well, you said she had pink hair. I was just making an educated guess... Now of you'll excuse me..." Sam began to walk away when Puck said,

"If you're looking for sexy mama... And you can't fool me cause I know you are... She's at her locker. I caught her there earlier. "  
Sam smiled his thanks to his friend. He and Puck were always on the same wavelength. Today was no different. It lead Sam to exactly where he wanted to be. He turned the corner and saw her at her locker trying to put a book up on the top shelf. Sometimes he loved that she was so short. It was so adorable he just wanted to put her in his pocket and keep her there for safe keeping. He strutted over to her, took the book and set it down in the desired place. She smiled up at him, lighting up his heart with her grin.

"Thank you." She said to him sweetly.

"No problem, a friend in need is a friend indeed."

"Oh my gosh Sam you are such a dork." Mercedes said laughing.

"Yes, these are facts. I Sam Evans am a super, humongous, nerd/dork. Slash sexiest man at McKinley."

All Mercedes did was laugh some more as he put his hand over his heart while uttering the words. He always knew how to make her smile. That's one thing she loved about him. The way he does things just to get a rise out of her.  
Mercedes closed her locker and her Sam began to walk down the hall together.

"So what's your first class of the day?" asked Mercedes.

"I got US history... Then math. You?"

"I have US history too! Are we in the same class?" Sam just shrugged and took his paper out of his back pocket.

"We are in the same class if you have a Mr. Greene as your US history teacher?" Sam hoped she said yes. He'd love to have that class with her, hell he'd probably end up failing it for having daydreams about her while staring her down and he wouldn't regret it AT ALL.

"Nope I got Sanders... Too bad, if we were in the same class then maybe we could be partners again and you can burst out another one of your famous soliloquies for me."

Sam smiled, he was surprised she remembered. Stopping her, Sam decided a little sonnet wouldn't hurt, just as long as she didn't understand the deeper meaning, it was probably gonna be fine.

_"All days are nights to see till I see thee, and night's bright days when dreams do show thee to me."_

The look on her face was priceless. She was so enamored by it her eyes looked glossed over. Sam had to admit it was incredibly cute.

Shyly she asked, "Now what does that mean?"

Sam just smiled in her face and said, "You're the genius... You figure it out." he looked at his watch and realized he was gonna be late for class. Pulling her to him in a tight hug he said "I'm gonna be late... So are you! See you in glee club ok?" Sam pulled away from her and jolted down the hallway.

Screaming to him Mercedes asks "Are you really not gonna tell me what that means?"

She never got an answer.

* * *

At lunch time Mercedes was making her way to the cafeteria when she saw Shane. Admittedly it was the first time she saw him since he broke up with her about two or three weeks ago. She thought when she saw him again he would at least greet her warmly, but instead he scowled in her direction. That surely pissed the diva off because once he made his little face she was stomping towards him, anger forming wildly in her eyes.

"Excuse you?" Mercedes said crossing her arms at him.

"What?" Shane was confused, why did she come up to him saying excuse you like they were already in a comfortable conversation?

"Why am I making my way to the cafeteria only to see you scowling at me? Shane I know we broke up but I thought you were at least the type of guy who couldn't hold a grudge."

"Umm broke up?" now Shane was even more confused.

"Why are you acting like we didn't break up a couple of weeks ago? Are you that childish?" He was testing her patience now... She was about to blow a gasket.

"I don't ever recall us breaking up baby. I told you I was gonna give you some space and now I did... When I saw you walking this way I got excited not angry... That was my sexy face you saw. I was happy you came to your senses and chose me."

The only way to describe Mercedes' face was: o_O. What the fuck did he just say? How could he believe that they were still a couple after weeks of absolutely no contact? Was he high? Did he do drugs on a regular basis?

"Shane you can't possibly think that we are still together after not speaking for weeks. That's insanity." Mercedes told him.

"No... That's love. I waited for you baby. And now you're here. So come here and let's pick up where we left off." Shane grabbed at her waist and Mercedes swatted the fool's hands away.

"Shane I don't know what drugs you're on but we aren't together anymore. And I don't want to hurt you but I don't really want a relationship right now anyway, my head is still confused about a lot of things, and I couldn't bare hurting you by leading you on." Mercedes tried her hand at honesty.

"This isn't about me! It's about that big lipped cock blocker who apparently is back at McKinley! Isn't it?" Shane spat violently.

"Shane don't bring Sam into this!" Mercedes warned.

"Oh he was in it as soon as he came back here... But he's gonna learn quickly not to mess Shane Tinsley!"  
Shane started to move but Mercedes blocked his path.

"I don't care how you feel about Sam or me and Sam's relationship... But Shane Tinsley I swear if you hurt Sam or do ANYTHING to him, I'll never forgive you. Ever."

Mercedes gave him a stern look then spun on her heel walking towards the cafeteria. She tried to keep her composure as she headed to the table; she sat down, completely ignoring everyone and biting her nails.

Sam noticed something was wrong, she always bit her nails when something was wrong. He got up from sitting next to finchel to sit next to her.

He gently put his hands on hers trying to get her attention. When she looked up at him he saw fear in her eyes. The fear looked like it was directed towards him.

"Everything ok?" Sam asked softly and quietly so not many people could hear.

She interlocked their fingers and tried to assure him and herself when she said, "Yeah... Yeah, it-it is."

* * *

When Sam was ready for bed he laid down and started to think about Mercedes. Something in her eyes worried him; he started to wonder if she was ok. She came inside the cafeteria so stricken, and lost in herself. He contemplated on calling her, but then he decided that he would just call her in the morning. He closed his eyes, still full of worry for his lady love, and hope that she would be alright.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam couldn't believe it. He went through his list throughout the week and tried to find every single thing about her that he loved and hated, but the results came out the same... The pros outweighed the cons. He went so far as to put her excessive nail biting on his cons list, yet the pros still outweighed everything. Entering Dr. Ian's office knowing that scared him. Yes, his list meant he still loved her very much... But what if Mercedes' list didn't resemble his? What if she had more cons than pros? What if his worse fear was coming true...? What if she didn't love him anymore?

"SAM! What's wrong him? Is he ok?" Mercedes asked Dr. Ian.

"I don't know... Sam, are you ok?" Dr. Ian asked him.

"Sorry I was just thinking to myself... What were we talking about?" Sam says.

"We were talking about your lists. Mercedes is up first, so Mercedes... It's been a week. Tell me which one outweighs the other. Pro or con?"

Mercedes bit her lip, taking the paper out of her purse. "I finished my list by Wednesday... That's how well I know Sam. I spent Thursday through Sunday re-reading it over and over, I even tried to redo it on Saturday, but I got the same results. All of the pros outweighed the cons."

Sam blew out a breath he didn't know he was holding; Dr. Ian caught on and asked him the same question.

"Me too. All of my Mercedes pro's outweighed any cons I could come up with. The cons were the hardest for me... I couldn't find anything big that I hated about her. Is that a bad thing? Do you think I put her on a pedestal?" Sam asked the therapist.

"I think you used too, just like Mercedes did you once. Mercedes, Sam I want you to switch lists. Show each other the truth."

Mercedes and Sam did as Dr. Ian asked reluctantly. Mercedes read Sam's lists and started to tear. Sam saw hers and felt his own tears forming.

"Pro..." Mercedes read off of Sam's list "_I love her._" The tears cascaded down her face now as she said it.

"Con..." Sam said, mocking her actions. _"I love him_."

"Cedes..."

"Sam I-"

"Hold on you two... Before you start confessions you should know that I gave you this assignment because some way, somehow I knew that you would both admit on your lists that you loved each other. For Sam, it's a pro because everyone in this room knows Sam loves you Mercedes, he confesses it almost every session… but for you it's a con because you feel as though you can't help what you feel for him. That's why you gave yourself to him while you were divorced, or why you chose to have your Ex-husband's baby. And why you refuse to believe that Sam still loves you after he cheated, you don't want to escape your love for Sam, even though it hurts. Both of you need to realize these things and instead of being confined to it, you can learn from it. Free yourself of your anger, your doubt and your fear. If you both trust each other you could have that relationship again. The one that Sam described as magical. The one that Mercedes described as amazing. But it's up to you both to do this together. What do you say? Are you two willing to try it from the beginning? Are we willing to start over? Are you two willing to honestly love each other again?

Mercedes and Sam looked at each other and at the same time they both said,

"Yes."

* * *

_a/n: what is wrong with Shane? Do you think he would hurt Sam? And it looks like future samcedes is beating present samcedes to the finish line of love! But there's always a twist isn't there? But for now, it's all love and Darren Criss. Until next time- Melle_


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: due to what happens in this, there will be no dream in this chapter. But don't worry, I'm not Ryan Murphy, I believe in continuity, so I can say that the start of the next chapter will be a dream to make up for the lack thereof in this one. **

**Oh and remember how Mercedes' brother thought Shane was shady? Well he was, and is. I think it was about time I showed Shane's true intentions and this is what happens. Warning there's violence in this chapter. It's an emotional roller-coaster of YAY and WTF? I can see the hate reviews in my mind already. Anyway, onto the chapter.**

_How could she let this happen? How could she not know that Shane was a man of his word? Looking into Sam's hospital room, Mercedes felt terrible that she ever doubted that he would do what he did. How could she not have known?_

**Three days earlier.**

Mercedes was chilling in the courtyard with Kurt and Blaine eating a sandwich. She noticed that Blaine kept smiling at her. Why? She had no idea.

"Why are you smiling at me?" Mercedes asked Kurt's boyfriend.

"You... You have a glow. It's beautiful." Blaine answered admiring her.

"Umm thanks?" Mercedes said with a grin.

"You're in love... Aren't you?" Blaine asked simply.

"Blaine!" Kurt said with a warning tone. "Sweetheart let's talk about something else and try not to make Mercy uncomfortable around us."

"Ok but I know love when I see it. As nauseating as Rachel and Finn are they obviously love each other. Tina and Mike too. And our Mercy here has joined the boat. I can see it all over her face. The question is... Who's the lucky guy?"

"Umm... There is no lucky guy. Because I'm not in love... Well at least not anymore. The 'glow' you're referring to must be my new bronzer." Mercedes retorted.

"I don't think-" Blaine began to say but Kurt stopped him by cutting him off.

"Blaine, honey... It's called DENIAL. Please just let Mercedes be."

"I am not in denial! I really don't love anyone!"

"Mhmm is that why you and Sam had a three hour phone conversation last night?" Kurt asked her.

"He called me to see if I had the same answers for the math test as he did... That's all!" Mercedes defended.

"Wouldn't that take like only 10 minutes?" Blaine jumped in with a question which caused Mercedes to look away.

"Okay... So maybe we talked about more than math. But, it was only friendly. Sam and I agreed, just friends. "

"Are you a masochist?" Asked Blaine.

"Umm no... Why?"

"Because it seems you like to torture yourself. We've only been back to school what? Two weeks now and every time I see you two in a room together you make me want to take both of you by the hands and force you two to admit that you're madly in love. In glee club all you do is stare at each other, in math all Sam does is stare at the back of your head. Then he writes stuff in his notebook. Do you guys like it? The pain I mean... Does it feel good knowing that what you want- wants you but yet you refuse to act on it?"

After Blaine's mini speech Mercedes felt tears forming in her eyes. Kurt, seeing this says, "Mercy... I-"

"All of a sudden I'm not hungry." Mercedes tosses her sandwich down and picks up her bag and just walks away.

Kurt hits Blaine's shoulder. "Are you out of your damn mind?"

Blaine picks up the chips Mercedes left and said, "No... Actually, I'm a genius."

"Care to elaborate Mr. Genius?" Kurt replied curtly.

"Mercedes is sad, and angry. But she isn't angry at me. She's angry because I'm right. I gave her the kick in the vagina she needed... Five bucks says she goes straight to Sam."

Kurt thought about it for a second... "Twenty bucks and we re-watch my fair lady tonight at your house."

Blaine pulled him in for a kiss and said," I love you... And you are so on."

* * *

Mercedes was walking down the hallway fast. She needed to find Sam, what Blaine said really pissed her off! She wasn't torturing herself on purpose. She was doing it because she needed to. She was giving Sam space; she was letting her mind clear... Who was she kidding? She was torturing herself. She was doing on the sole purpose of her being stubborn as fuck. She started to walk even faster now... Straight to Sam's locker where she hoped he'd be. Turning the corner it felt like she hit a brick wall- when actually she bumped into Shane.

"Hey baby." Shane said smiling down at her.

"I'm not your baby." Mercedes said moving away from him. She tried to go down the hall but he blocked her path.

"Shane move." She warned.

"Look I just want to talk to you- Mercedes I love you. And I think we should be together, now you need to forget about that shit head and come back to a real man."

"No... I don't. I told you Shane I don't want to be with you anymore. You're better than this... Move. On."

Once again she tried to leave but he wouldn't let her.

"I'm not moving on... And neither are you. You know you still want this."

Mercedes laughed, "The only thing I want is for you to MOVE!" she pushed him out of the way and that's when he grabbed her arm.

"Shane what the fuck!" Mercedes screamed.

"Do you know how long I waited for you? How much research I did... How long I waited until you were actually mine? No! I'm not letting you go now... Not after all my preparations."

Research? Preparations? What did he just say?

"You... Researched me?" Mercedes asked.

"Nevermind all that... The point is that I'm not letting you go after all I've done to get you. You're mine Mercedes."

He pulled her closer to him and Mercedes tugged and scratched at him to let go. "Shane get off of me!" She screamed to an empty hallway.

Shane pushed her back, feeling completely stupid for oversharing and completed rejected by the one object of his affection. Hauntingly violent he said, "I'm not letting you go Mercedes... Either you agree to be with me, or I'll hurt Sam. I swear to you I will."

Mercedes bit her lip, she didn't believe him. Shane wouldn't hurt anyone outside of the football field. He was a softy. She didn't believe he would ever hurt a soul.

"I'm NOT going to be with you Shane. And I don't believe ANY of your idle threats. So from now on... Just leave me the hell alone."

Shane clenched his jaw, his mind raced on all the things he could do to get her to love him the way he loved her. He knew that would never happen unless he got rid of the competition.

Speaking of competition Sam was strutting down the hallway. He saw Mercedes and Shane and immediately came over.

"Hey guys... Something wrong?" Sam asked more to Mercedes than Shane.

"This isn't over." Shane said walking away.

And it wasn't- not by a long shot.

* * *

When Sam saw Mercedes with Shane in the hallway, at first he felt jealously hit him, and then he noticed that they seemed angry and he came over to see what was wrong. Once Shane left with a warning to Mercedes, Sam knew something had to be up.

Grabbing her hand, Sam asked. "Mercy, what's going on?"

"Nothing Sam... I just told Shane that I didn't want him anymore and he didn't take it well. That's all."

Mercedes looked up into his worried green eyes and could see the love he held for her inside- along with the fear about Shane.

"Are you sure that's all? He seemed pissed off." Sam said

"I honestly don't give a fuck. I think he was stalking me before we went out anyway."

"Wait, what?"

"While we were arguing he said he had done 'all this research' and stuff before he got me. How cray is that?" Mercedes laughed a little.

"Actually... Very. Are you sure you don't want to read more into this?" Sam asked.

"No... It's over between us. As long as he leaves me alone, I'll be ok..."

"Ok... I know how much you hate it when I pester so for now I'll let it go." Says Sam.

Mercedes smiled. "Good, because I don't want to talk about Shane. I actually was looking for you."

"Little ole me? Why Miss Jones I am positively flattered." Sam said dragging out his southern accent a bit. It made her laugh which always made him laugh.

"Shut up silly! I'm trying to be serious. Sit down with me?"

Sam agreed and they both sat down in front of the lockers in the hallway.

"I'm getting this strange Deja vu feeling-" Sam says to her.

"Hmm me too." Mercedes smiles.

"So what's up buddy?" Sam said nudging her shoulder playfully.

"Are you hurting Sam?" She asks seriously.

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Every time I see you- It aches. I hurt inside knowing that you lied to me about having to move to Kentucky. I hurt when I know I hurt you by not telling you about Shane. I hurt every time I'm near you... Because I know I love you- yet I'm keeping myself from you, I'm closing myself off so that I can't hurt you again, and so you won't hurt me. Do you hurt too Sam?"

Sam smiled at her admission. He'd been trying to get her to admit to still loving him all summer. But she was also honest. She was hurting, so was he. Everything hurts not having her.

"I hurt too." Sam admits. "I hurt knowing that I hurt you by sleeping with that girl, or lying about Kentucky. I hate that you got another boyfriend so quickly. I hurt knowing you shared your body with another man besides me. I hurt because I love you too... More than you know. I don't want to hurt anymore Mercedes. I try- everyday to be your friend but honestly I can't... I don't want to be held at arm's length by you anymore. All I want is for you to be mine Mercedes- really mine."

Mercedes began to cry for the second time today. She sobbed looking into his eyes, and Sam cupped her cheek.

"Sam I-" Mercedes began to speak through her tears, but Sam just shook his head at her. "No more-" he said before taking her lips and kissing them softly. He could feel the mixture of Mercedes mango lip gloss and her salty tears in his mouth. She never stopped crying as he stuck his tongue inside; they danced with each other fitting so perfectly in both of their mouths.

Slowly they reformed what once was in the same hallway they shared their second kiss.

"I love you..." Sam says after they pulled away for air.

"I love you too Sammy..." she kissed him once more chastely.

_ "My only love."_

* * *

**Three days later.**

Shane was waiting for him. He knew this was the only way he could get Mercedes. Shane needed him gone so he could have her all to himself. At first he thought about just letting it go- letting her go. She outright told him she no longer wanted him... So Shane thought about just giving up. But then he remembered what happened yesterday. He was walking down the halls and he saw them holding hands. Shane wanted to think nothing of it, but then Sam kissed her lips once before going to class. Mercedes smiled and blushed and went in the other direction. That's what set him off. She obviously chose that dickhead over him. Him- who treated her like a queen, Him-who spent all year researching and observing her- trying to find out everything he could about her, only to have her. For a while it worked, he had her all to himself. But then she told him she still loved Sam. Shane was stupid for letting her go that night. He was stupid for letting her go at all.

Sam finally came out of the school, of course with her in tow. They held hands as Sam walked her to her car. Shane was close behind.

"Do you have to go back to hudmel's? My parents won't be home for another hour." Mercedes said as she kissed his hands.

Sam brought her closer and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist.

"Mrs. Hudson has a curfew set for everybody in the house- even Burt." Sam laughed and Mercedes pouted.

"Don't worry baby, I will see you tomorrow. We can study and watch movies and... Make out furiously." she smiled at the last part and Sam pulled her into him and kissed her lips. Wanting more Mercedes wraps her arms around his neck and they start to make out in the parking lot. Sam's hands fall to her sides and grips her waist tighter.

"Sam... We've only been dating again for two days and I already want you so badly." Mercedes whispered in his ear.

"You have no idea how much I can relate, Mercedes you're all I think about. I can't wait till I'm inside of you again. Making love to you."

Sam gave her his sex eyes and Mercedes didn't falter under them. She just looked back into his eyes with a sexy face of her own which had his pants tightening uncomfortably.

"You should go; I don't want Mrs. Hudson to think I'm keeping you."

Sam nodded and kissed her again. He opened her car for her and she got in. She rolled down her window and asked, "Sam, are you sure you don't want me to drive you? I know it's only a couple of blocks- but it's getting late and I just want you to be safe."

"Don't worry about me, just go. I've got to go talk to coach bieste anyway before I go home... I promise to call you when I get there ok?" she nodded reluctantly and he leaned in to kiss her.

He waved to her as she drove off and then Sam began walking back into the school, he almost reached the entrance when he heard someone behind him.

"Hey Sam…" Shane said coming up towards him.

"_This guy…"_ Sam said to himself shaking his head. Out loud he said, "Hey Shane how is hanging man?"

"How's it hanging?" Shane laughed humorlessly, "It was hanging very good until you decided to come back to Lima."

At that Sam turned around. Now he was face to face with Shane. "What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked

"It means you stole my girl you dick." Shane spat.

"I stole your girl?" now it was Sam's turn to laugh. "Shane don't you get it? You were always the rebound guy. Mercedes loved me even while she was with you. What part of that can't you get through your thick skull? You never meant more to her than I did. GET OVER IT."

"I won't get over it you stupid fuck. Mercedes _will_ be mine again."

"Yeah, when hell freezers over or I'm dead and buried."  
Sam laughed in his face once more and then began to make his way to the school. Shane followed him and screamed, "As you wish asshole!"

Quickly he charged Sam, taking him to the ground. Sam fell on his face and his nose started to bleed. Shane turned him around and began to sit on him and repeatedly punch him where he bled. His fists were full of anger and jealously. Sam managed to kick him in the stomach and Shane grunted rolling off of him. It was Sam's turn to pounce he jumped on him and began to punch him in the eye five times. Shane grabbed at Sam's neck and squeezed hard. This was his chance. Soon he would be rid of this big lipped dick bag and have his Mercedes back again.

Sam decided that two could play it that game as he wrapped both of his hands around his neck as well. Both of them fighting for breath, neither of them letting go. Finally with an unseen force of strength Shane pushed Sam off of him hard, and Sam slid across the parking lot.

"You're dead now you son of a bitch!" Shane said stalking towards him. Sam got up off the ground and charged Shane they both smacked into a car breaking the window. Sam gives Shane a punch to his face and stomach, Shane groans and takes his fists, hitting Sam in the side of the head. Sam falls back a bit, stumbling at the hard hit. He tries to get away so he could clear the cobwebs out from being dazed but Shane takes his head and brings him over to the car.

Pulling at his blonde locks, Shane says, "My momma always said be careful what you wish for… "

"Fuck you!" Sam spits out with blood falling out of his mouth.

"I'll saving the fucking for Mercedes. Bye Sam." Then Shane proceeds to punch him one more time before hitting Sam's head on the top of the car, once, twice, then one last time before throwing Sam's unconscious body to the ground.

Shane stood over him proud of himself; he was so caught up in the rush he didn't even hear Mike and Puck come out of the school. They spotted Shane and called to him to say hi but Shane began to run. While he was running puck noticed blood on his white shirt. He ran in the direction of Shane but stopped when he saw Mike's car. He screamed in horror as he saw Sam's unconscious body next to it in a pool of blood. Mike came running up behind him to ask what's wrong.

"DUDE CALL 911!" Puck screams. "NOW!"

* * *

_a/n: I know.. fuck me right? If you really hate it, you can still tell me in the reviews. Or you could tell me on tumblr what a douche I am for doing that to Sam. My tumblr is melleisrandom...I'm sorry! Don't hate me okay?_

_Love and Darren Criss- Melle _


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: When I reached 200 reviews I cried harder than Rachel whenever she sings a song. Thank you guys for reviewing whether it be good or bad I read every single one. I love you guys like a fat kid loves cake. (Very bad joke I know) anyway some context before reading:**

**Sadness ahead, I know I'm evil for this, but it's not over just yet... and there's some puckcedes friendship in this and like I said the dream is at the beginning of the chapter. **

**Now, on to the freak show…**

That night, after another session of therapy, Sam drove Mercedes home. They were making wonderful strides in therapy, after their confessions of love and the pros and cons lists, Mercedes seemed more open to hearing about his affair. She actually sat and listened this time without a scowl or a groan. She found out that Emma was going to ruin his career by saying he raped her if he didn't sleep with her. He honestly told her that he would feel guilty every time he did it. She found out that he stopped sleeping with her because of the guilt he felt about Emma. He conveyed to her that he never once told Emma he loved her because he didn't, nor did he ever tell her that he was going to leave Mercedes for her.  
Mercedes seemed to understand more and more of why he did it. But she also told him that she would never forget the pain he caused, or the hurt she felt finding out. Their healing was becoming- but it was slow and not rushed at all. Each session they learned more and more about each other in new ways. It was like they were getting to know each other from the beginning.

Sam opened the door for his pregnant ex-wife and helped her to her room. Mercedes was having a hard time getting places because the pregnancy had her feet swollen to the size of melons... And her having huge feet called for a very hysterical Mercedes... And when she was sad, Sam got no peace. She called him no matter what hour of the night asking him for everything. From imported ice cream to him coming over at 3am. It was cute, but it also left Sam incredibly weary.

"Ok so... I got you up here, now... I'm going home." Sam tried to make a quick exit but Mercedes- like clockwork started crying.

"You're leaving because of me right?" she asked with a distressed sob.

Sam turned around, and sighed. He was in for another bout of hysterics. He could feel it. "Cedes' what are you talking about?"

"You... You're leaving because you don't want to deal with _Mercedes the emotional mess_... I get it Sam, just go." Mercedes managed to get into the bed and she rolled on her side turning away from him. Sam couldn't help but find her incredibly adorable. He took his shoes off and climbed in next her and wrapped his arms around her belly.

Gently he rubbed it, and he whispered in her ear, "If you wanted me to stay... All you have to do is say so, cedes you know I'll do anything for you."

"I don't want you to think I'm this emotional mess, I'm more grounded then that Sam. I don't know what's happening to me." Mercedes said whimpering softly.

"Hey, you're pregnant. It comes with the territory. Your emotions are all over the place right now, it's your hormones. I don't think you're an emotional mess, I think you're incredibly cute."

Mercedes turned around at that, Sam could see it in her eyes that he pissed her off. The question was: how did he do it this time?

"Cute?" Mercedes scoffed in his face. "You think I'm cute!"

"Incredibly cute?" Sam says again with a smile.

"So that's how you see me now? Just some 'cute' pregnant woman?" she scoffed again this time louder.

"Cedes' you gotta tell me what you're getting at because I can't read minds."

"I don't want to argue Sam... Just forget it." She turned her back towards him again.

"Mercedes Evans can you please explain to me why you are mad all of a sudden?!" Sam asked to her back. Mercedes kept quiet, the only thing Sam heard was a huff from her, and so Sam decided to change the game. He got up and began to put his shoes on.  
When Mercedes didn't feel him behind her anymore she turned around and saw Sam getting dressed. She didn't want him to go- _he was not leaving_.

"Where are you going?" Mercedes asked sitting upright.

"I'm leaving. Dr. Ian said we had to be open and honest with each other, so unless you want to tell me why you're upset, I'm gonna go home, and lay in my big bed, drama free."

Mercedes said nothing in return, she was being stubborn. Plus she didn't think he was really gonna go, but when Sam made his way toward the door, she had to stop him.

"Okay! Don't go... I'll tell you." Mercedes caved.

Smiling Sam sat back down on the bed and said, "So what's wrong?"

"Nothing..." She bit her lip. "It's just... I went from being sexy, and hot and fine in your eyes to just... being... _Cute_. It's just a change in things I guess. I know I'm not attractive anymore now that I'm pregnant... "

"Mercedes..." Sam laughed cutting her off. "We had sex a month ago- you were pregnant then... What's different now?"

"I dunno... My feet are the size of watermelons..."

"But you're still beautiful..." Sam says moving closer to her.

"My face has swelled dramatically."

"You're still beautiful..." Sam says again wrapping his arms around her waist.

"My breasts ache, I look like a walrus, I'm hungry all the time-"

Sam shut her up with a hungry kiss to her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer. They kissed frantically, passionately. Sam pulled away suddenly and said,

"Mercedes, you are the sexiest, hottest woman in the world to me. Pregnant, not pregnant you still get me hard. You still turn me on, and I know we promised Dr. Ian we wouldn't have sex again until we got through all of our issues but I want you to know I will always want you. All of you, seven months pregnant and all."

Mercedes kissed him again and smiled. She needed that; Sam always knew how to make her feel better when she was down on herself. He was just that wonderful.

"Should I go now?" Sam asked looking into her deep brown eyes. He brushed her hair out of her face gently and his face rested on her jaw, stroking it softly.

"No." She said, looking into his emerald green eyes..."Not tonight."

_Somewhere in a hospital bed, in a coma Sam was having one of his best dreams yet._

* * *

"This is ALL your fault!" Mary Evans yelled to Carol and Burt Hummel. Once they heard about what happened to Sam, Mary and Sam's father Mark came rushing from Kentucky, with Stacy and Stevie in tow. Everyone was at the hospital. The Hudmel's, Finn and Kurt, Sam's parents, Mercedes parents, Mr. Shue, ALL of the new directions and Mercedes. Who hadn't said a word or moved since Mike called her telling her about it. All she did was stare at Sam through the glass window of the ICU while the Hudmel's and Evan's argued.

"We didn't know! Ok! We're sorry!" Carol Hudson said to Sam's mother.

"I don't want to hear it! As soon as our baby gets out of intensive care we are taking him home! We knew we shouldn't have trusted him with you!" Mark screams at them.

"Hey buddy don't you speak to my wife that way! If anyone's to blame here it's you!" Burt defended.

"Don't you put any blame on us! We were all the way in Kentucky! YOU were supposed to be watching him!" The Evan's screamed back.

"It's my fault." Mercedes said lowly.

"We were watching HIM! How dare you imply that we are irresponsible!"

"It's MY fault." They all stopped arguing when they heard her say it again louder.

"Mercedes dear, how is any of this your fault?" Carol asked.

"Shane... The guy the arrested for this did this because he was stalking me- he was obsessed with me and he couldn't accept that I love Sam. He hurt Sam because of me!" Mercedes sobbed.

"Oh dear, we don't blame you- so don't blame yourself- This Shane guy, did it because he was nuts. Not because of you." Mary Evans tried to convince her.

"NO!" Mercedes screamed. "It's all my fault... And if Sam dies, I'll never forgive myself. You- you don't understand... No one understands." She took off down the hallway in tears; she even passed the waiting room where everybody else was. Her parents, and Kurt saw her running down the halls crying and Kurt got up and ran after her. Surprising, Quinn was there too and she followed Kurt after Mercedes.

Mercedes was outside in the parking lot when Kurt and a still pink haired Quinn found her. She was crying heavily and kneeling down against a car. Quinn ran over to her and hugged her to herself, sitting down next to Mercedes.

"Cedes' it's ok calm down... Breathe." Quinn says to her friend.

"I-I can't Quinn! Sam's hurt because of me! If I had only taken Shane up on his offer, or- or if I had warned someone... This wouldn't of happened."

Kurt, now kneeling in front of the two girls decides to add his two cents, "Mercy you think that Shane still wouldn't of found a way to hurt Sam even if you told someone? He was adamant on getting him out of your life. The police found a shrine in his room, dedicated to you. He was crazy Mercedes... There was nothing anyone could've done."

"That's not true! I could've done something! I could've given Shane what he wanted... All he wanted was me. If I would've given him me... Sam wouldn't be in a coma." Mercedes sobbed into Quinn's shoulder.

"Mercedes, you can't say that... Shane was insane... If it was the other way around I have no doubt he would've done the same thing to you... Or worse, you could be dead right now cedes..." Quinn said.

Mercedes pushed away from Quinn and stood up. vehemently she screamed "Maybe I deserve it! Maybe I deserve to die! I wish it was me instead of Sam. I wish Shane would've hurt me!"

"Cedes what are you even saying?" Kurt huffed.

"Just... Leave me the hell alone... Okay? I want to be ALONE!" Mercedes then took off into the night leaving Quinn and Kurt there confused and worried about her.

Back in the hospital, everyone sat in the waiting room now, the Hudmel's and the Evan's got kicked out of Sam's room for arguing. Quinn and Kurt came back inside in a haste, desperately hoping Mercedes came back inside of the hospital.

"Anybody seen Mercy?" Kurt says to the crowd.

"No... We thought she was with you!" Her father says to Kurt and Quinn.

"Mr. Jones she was, and then she started screaming about how she wished it was her in the hospital bed instead of Sam. She basically said she would die for him." Quinn said with fear in her voice.

"Oh dear lord... That poor girl is blaming herself." Mary Evans said holding a hand to her heart.

"Look... Imma go and try and find my daughter, and bring her home... She's obviously too hysterical to be here while Sam is in this state... Come on Angela. We are going." The Joneses got up to go but surprisingly, Puck stopped them.

"With all due respect Mr. Jones I don't think taking Mercedes home is going to help the situation. Everyone here knows she loves him with all her heart... And she doesn't want to be away from him. She's just having a meltdown cause that asshole Shane got to her... She needs someone to talk to."

"We tried that-" Kurt said, but Puck cut him off.

"Look Kurt, I understand you consider yourself her best friend but not enough to know that she was hurting all summer over Sam. Hell, I figured it out way before all of you, but I kept my mouth shut. Cause that's what friends do. They are there for each other always. I don't mean to down your friendship with hot mama; I'm just saying you ignored her drama- for Rachel's. No offense Rachel- and maybe you aren't the best person to talk to right now... You either Quinn- sorry. You kinda got your own demons to work out."

"Wait! How dare you-" Kurt began to say but Puck was gone, off to find Mercedes.

In the waiting room they were all giving each other looks, when the doctor came in.

"Who are the parents?" The doctor said.

"That's us!" The Evans got up.

_"Good. Come with me."_

* * *

Puck found her near the clearing. It wasn't too far from the hospital, and somehow, he knew she was going to be there. Mercedes was looking out into the water with her face buried into her knees crying. Puck came over and sat down. She looked up and saw him but kept crying. Puck didn't say anything. He just scooted over, brought her closer to him and let her cry into his chest. She cried for a good five minutes on puck, before wiping her face on his shirt.

"Puck... I'm afraid." Mercedes said looking up at him.

"Me too." Puck admits. "And I'm not going to sit here and ask you to be strong because that's bullshit. And I'm not going to say everything is going to be ok because we don't know that for sure. But I will tell you that I'm here for you and I know how you feel. I love Sam like a brother. I watched him cry on me, just like you are doing now, saying that he loved you. And he knew that you loved him too. And I know Sam, he's a fighter. He's not just gonna give up. He has a family, he has friends... And now he has you again. Don't give up hope, we have to have faith he will be okay."

"Noah when did you become so insightful?" Mercedes asked feeling a tad better.

"I don't know... Really I'm just pulling this out of my ass to make you feel better."

Mercedes started to laugh a little and puck smiled. "You can feel how you want to feel Cedes, Trust me. I myself wanted to kill Shane once I found him. But mike stopped me and told me to let the police handle it. I was a basket case of emotions. Just like you are. But now that Shane is in custody, and Sam is here at the hospital, I think I'm gonna be ok. The pain and rage is still there, but I don't let it rule me. Just like you shouldn't let it rule you."

"But... What if I can't? What if I can't contain it? I'm so- so angry and I feel so guilty Noah... Like I'm the one who should be in the hospital bed... I love Sam so much, and I can't deal with this right now... I want to throw things! And hurt someone- I want to hurt Shane and scream at him. I don't know how to deal right now." Mercedes admits.

"I don't think hurting Shane will solve anything. It will just make you feel worse. Believe me, I know. You don't have to hurt others or yourself... You just have to believe in Sam. Believe that he wouldn't want you to blame yourself- believe that he loves you. Believe that he'll pull through. You're a Christian Mercedes... Believe."

Mercedes began to sob again and Puck held on- trying to show her that he was there for her while her faith was shaken, there for her while Sam's future was unknown. That he was there for her... Period.

"Will you pray with me Noah?" Mercedes asked Puck once again wiping her tears on his black shirt.

"I don't really pray... I mean I believe in god and all but... I don't think the G man likes me very much."

"God loves all people- including you. What did you just say to me? Believe?"

Puck nods agreeing with her.

"Then believe that he loves you, because he does- believe that he can hear us, believe that Sam with be okay with me... Pray with me Noah."

Puck nods again and then Mercedes gets on her knees and puck follows. She says a prayer for Sam and for god to give him strength through the storm, in the middle of it she breaks down into tears, pleading with god to bring Sam back to her. Puck grabs her hands tight and prays with her while she cries. In the midst of it, he gets caught up too, and he finally released his own tears he'd been holding in since he found Sam.

Together near the water Puck and Mercedes cried and prayed for their best friend... And her true love.

* * *

_a/n: good or bad? do you think Sam's gonna make it? will Mercedes be okay? let me know what you think! _

_love, butterflies, and Darren Criss- Melle  
_


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I had writers block for a while and this is what came out of it. Sorry in advance if you don't like it, the dream portion is at the beginning of the chapter and the next chapter will be the end. Thanks for reading and on to the chapter! **

**P.S. : sorry if there is any spelling/grammar mistakes. Ok Chapter 23:**

Mercedes woke up next to her ex husband's naked body. He was snoring like always with a possessive arm wrapped around her swollen belly. His hair was tousled about all over her new pillows and he looked like an angel. They weren't suppose to have sex last night. That was one of Dr. Ian's main rules for them to rebulid their relationship- absolutely no sex for at least a month. Honestly it was going well until she freaked out about not being sexy in his eyes anymore and Sam, being Sam had to show her just how wrong she was.

It wasn't rough, or quick... Or easy with her being seven months pregnant and all, but they managed to make sweet, slow, love last night and honestly Mercedes wouldn't of had it any other way. The way he held her- like she would break... The way he touched her so softly... Even the way he entered her from behind was painfully slow and decisive. There were no bite marks like their usual sex would leave, instead there were sweet kisses to her neck and shoulder as his large hands gripped her breasts, and even sweeter whispers of how much he loved her as he palmed her belly afterwards.

Looking at him now, Mercedes couldn't help but think about all she went through with this very man. The lies, the fights, the anger... the love, the sex, the happiness. It all seemed to come full circle now. After everything they been through she knew- they would always be in each others lives. They would always love each other and that was both an amazing, and frightening realization.

She touched his face softly and kissed his cheek to wake him, but he didn't move. She moved his hair back and kissed his neck... Still nothing. She kissed his shoulder and her hand moved into the curve of his muscular back, that's when he began to stir, but he still hadn't fully awaken. Her hand moved all the way down until she reached his tight little booty and squeezed softly. That's when he opened his eyes and gave her the biggest grin she had ever seen on him.

"Cedes... What are you doing?" Sam asked as he turned around.

"I was trying to rape you..." Mercedes said jokingly.

Sam smiled sleepily and he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and falling back on her pillow. His eyes closed again and he tried to go back to sleep but... Mercedes was not having that. She turned towards him and kissed his lips softly whispering, "Wake up Sam..."

"I don't wanna..." Sam said groggily.

She kissed his lips once more and said, "Sammy... Come on... You need to wake up."

Even though his future self eventually did, Somewhere in Ohio, in a hospital bed... Sam just didn't want to stop dreaming.

* * *

"Doctor please... Tell us Sam is gonna be okay!" Mary Evans asked the doctor.

"Actually there is good news... Sam is going to be fine. After the surgery the swelling in his brain has went down dramatically and he could come out of the coma any minute now..." The doctor says to them.

The Evans' blew a sigh of relief and and Mary Evans hugged her husband tightly. "Oh thank god! Mark! Sam is gonna be okay!"

"I heard sweetheart... I heard." Mark kisses his wife's head and holds her as the doctor continues.

"Now I must warn you, although Sam is physically fine; brain injuries are unpredictable, so there might be a slight problem with memory loss, but we won't know anything until Sam wakes up. Other than that everything looks good... And his CT scan is normal. I suggest you give it a day, he should be awake by tomorrow morning."

The doctor patted Mark Evans' shoulder sympathetically and then went on her way. The Evans then went inside Sam's room and sat with him.

"Look at him Mark... He looks so peaceful." Mary Evans said brushing Sam's hair out of his face.

"Yeah, he does." Mark said with a sigh. He kissed Sam forehead and held his wife's hand.

"He's alright Mark... Our baby's gonna make it." there was hope in her eyes.

"I know. Still doesn't mean I don't have a right to be pissed though. I mean this whole situation is completely bananas. This Shane boy hurt our son cause he loved Mercedes? How can you begin to tell all of our relatives that? Sam is sitting here in a hospital bed cause of some girl." Mary could see her husband's anger rising, she understood where he was coming from but enough fighting, anger and guilt was passed around already. What they needed now was peace, and solace.

"Mark, Mercedes isn't just some girl... Sam loves her with all his heart. He was torn up all summer over her. Now our son is in here not because of Mercedes but because he loves her. If the roles were reversed, you tell me you wouldn't of fought for me just like Sam did for her."

Mark kept quiet, and that's how Mary knew he agreed.

"Now enough of the blaming and misplaced anger. Let's focus on Sam's recovery. That's all that matters now."

Mark nodded and they both hovered over Sam, watching him breathe in and out on his own. It took a while for him to get to that point (three days to be exact) but he was fine now. He was going to be fine... Everything was going to be fine...

At least they hoped it was.

* * *

After she and Noah cried and prayed together he drove her home, her parents already were upstairs sleeping. Mercedes hugged Puck goodnight and went upstairs to shower and get into her night clothes. Puck convinced her to go home and get some rest. And Mercedes tried. She honestly did try to just close her eyes and sleep but everytime she did the memory of the night they got back together replayed in her mind.

"_You're so damn beautiful" Sam said to Mercedes as they laid down in her bed. They decided to go to her house to study after school and they ended up just making out and touching each other with their clothes still on. Of course they both wanted more but since they just got back together they didn't want it to be too overwhelming._

_"Hey... watch your language Mr Evans!" Mercedes poked his chest and laughed lightly. Sam took the finger she was poking him with and brought it to his lips, sending a shiver down Mercedes' spine._

_"I can't help how I feel... and I won't help it, ever again. I love you Mercedes Jones. I love you so much."_

_"I love you too, Sam... My sammy." Mercedes said with tears in her eyes. A huge smile formed on Sam's lips and he brushed his fingers across her plump bottom lip. She smiled against his fingers and that made Sam come down and attach his lips to hers softly. He pecked against her lips once... twice... Five times, before she opened her mouth and let his tongue in. Sam cupped her cheek and deepened the kiss, elicting a tiny moan out of her. His hands roamed... And made their way to her breasts. Mercedes' whole body felt like it was on fire, something she hasn't felt since she lost her virginity._

_Sam felt the same way as Mercedes did. His whole body was a seeping inferno of love and lust and it was all directed towards this very woman. It had been so long, and all he wanted to do was touch all over her and love her. But he didn't want it to happen so soon. They had just reaffrimed their relationship. It wasn't new, but it was rebooting and he wanted more then sex from Mercedes. He wanted intimacy._

_Sam took his hands off of her and opened his eyes causing Mercedes to open hers. She smiled through her heavy lids and he swiped her bang out of her face. "I take it you don't want to go too far?" Mercedes asked._

_"No... I want you. Believe me Mercedes, you're all I want... But I want to take it slow... I don't only want your body. I want your mind, your soul, your heart." Sam kissed her cheek and then they switched positions so that she was laying on his chest. Mercedes was so overwhelmed with the loved she felt she didn't know how to respond to him. This boy loved her whole heartedly- and she was a fool to ever think otherwise._

_As Sam stared up at the celing Mercedes said simply, "You know you can have all of that from me Sam. I'm yours... Completely. All of me."_

_Sam looked down at the woman he loved and smiled. This girl loved him with everything inside of her- and he was a fool for messing it up in the first place._

_He cupped her cheek with both of his hands and said, "I know Mercy... Finally, I know." before capturing her lips with his once again._

Mercedes closed her eyes and cried thinking about that moment. She curled up into a ball on her bed and cried openly... With Sam's name on her lips.

* * *

Sam's eyes crept open in the morning. He looked around and wondered where the hell he was. He saw his mom and dad laying on eachother as they slept in chairs next to his bed. His lips parted and his mouth was bone dry. A loud cough escaped his lips which woke up his parents. Mary was the first to wake, as she saw Sam with his eyes open and coughing and rushed over to him, completely distraught and sobbing.

"Sam!" Mary said to him. She hugged him to her chest tightly and Sam's face smushed against her.

"Mom you're hurting me." Sam said as his dad's eyes opened next. He saw Mary hugging an awake Sam and he rushed over as well adding to the family hug.

"Guys... Please, I love you but get off of me." Mary and Mark moved back an inch and they both smiled happy to see Sam awake and well.

"Sorry Sam... We're just happy you're okay." His father exclaimed.

"I guess Shane beat my ass then... If I'm in here." Sam said sadly.

His mom's eyes widened, Sam obviously remembered what happened to him. She smiled a little. Knowing that her son's memory was intact.

"Sam! You remember what happened to you?" Mark asked him.

"I got into a fight with Shane. He told me that Mercedes was his... That fucker... Excuse my language sir." Sam said to his father.

His father laughed. "I'll let it slide this time son. Only because you woke up in a hospital bed."

Hospital... Sam thought. If he was in here, what happened to Mercedes? Did Shane hurt her too? He started to panic.

"Mom... Mercedes... What happened to Mercedes?" Sam's blood pressure meter was going up fast. He tried to get up but his mom held him down, trying to calm him.

"Sam stop before your blood pressure reaches dangerous levels... Mercedes is fine. They found that Shane boy the same night he did this to you. He's in jail."

Sam stilled and exhaled deeply. He was glad she was alright. If he ever got his hands on Shane again he was going to kill that bastard.

The doctor came in not a mintue later with two nurses. She smiled at Sam and his parents and said, "Sam. Good. You're awake."

"Yeah... I guess I am." Sam repiled. "How long have I been out?"

"Give or take two weeks. You came through surgery nicely... And your brain healed quickly. One things for sure mr. Evans... You are a fighter." the doctor smiled at him again causing Sam to smile back.

"Mr and Mrs Evans can you two please wait outside while we check on Sam? It shouldn't take long."

The Evans' nodded and went into the waiting room. They sat together with coffee from the vending machine and they both decided that it was time to call the calvary.

"Do you really think we should call everyone? Sam just woke up... I don't want to overwhelm him." Mark said to his wife.

"We'll just tell them that they can come later. But I think they deserve to know if he's alright." Mary replied.

"Alright... You make all those calls with your phone... But I think there's someone you need to call first." Mark says.

Mary nodded and said, "I know... Mercedes."

* * *

After getting the call from Sam's mom that he was awake and talking Mercedes rushed to the hospital. She came to the door and saw Sam smiling and talking to his parents. Her eyes filled with tears as she saw the bandage wrapped over his head. She exhaled, counted to ten and then entered the room.

Sam saw her and his heart started to pound faster then it already was. She was here and she was okay. The meter he was hooked up to started to beep loudly and Sam's mom started to smile. Mercedes dropped her purse and ran over to him giving him a tight hug. She was so happy he was alright. So happy that her prayers worked. She would have to thank Noah later.

"Sam..." She said through tears flowing down her eyes.

"Cedes." Is all Sam said before he did the unthinkable.

He grabbed her face with his hands, and started to kiss her hard... In the hospital... In front of his parents.

* * *

A/N: So... Did you like it? Or no? Next chapter will be the last. And Sam's gonna pay a little visit to Shane! How fun right? Anyway... Love, and as always Darren Criss. - Melle


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: final chapter time! it's been a long road and this crazy didn't seem to want to end. but i finally managed to write an ending i sort of like. this is about the fourth revision to this, so if you don't like it, you can tell me one final time! (lol) to keep the confusion low i will say it goes back and forth through time in the future, then the past then finally the present. i hope you enjoy and thanks to everyone who ever took the time to read and review this very odd/un-beta'd story. hope you understand what i did with it and on to the chapter...**

**THE FUTURE:**

Sam and Mercedes were moving forward. They proved to each other and Dr. Ian that they could get past their petty problems and love again. Mercedes was at her full term in her pregnancy, ready to pop at any moment when her and Sam came to their last session with Dr. Ian. When the couples therapist first met them they came in with scowls and sadness. Now walking into his office they were nothing but smiles and romantic gleams in their eyes. Dr. Ian couldn't even credit himself for fixing them... They did it all alone.

"Sam, Mercedes... This is our last session." The doctor told them proudly.

Sam looked at him shocked and asked, "Wait I thought we had at least three more?" Mercedes nodded in agreement with her ex-husband.

"Well, you did. But I cancelled them. When we met all those months ago- you two hated each other for different reasons. The hate consumed you both, and I honestly thought you were going to be a tough case. But as we progressed, and you two remembered you weren't kids anymore- you also remembered under all that hate was love. The love that never left on Sam's end and the love that wanted to leave on Mercedes' side. You talked through the biggest problem- the cheating- and you worked through all the reasons why you ended and you finally got back to where you both wanted to be- back in love with each other despite it all. Sam, Mercedes this is our last session because i honestly believe you guys don't need me anymore. In fact I don't think you ever really needed me- The only thing you two truly needed was a nudge in the right direction... Back to each other."

Mercedes started to tear as she held onto Sam's hand for dear life. Hearing from another person that her and Sam changed was amazing. She couldn't believe Dr. Ian felt that they no longer needed therapy.

"So... Does this mean... That we are cured?" Sam asked.

Dr. Ian started to laugh and said, "No Sam. This doesn't mean that you're cured. It does mean however, that I believe that you two have grown enough to not need someone else to interfere anymore. Both your problems start, and can end with you. No more lies. No more secrets, or infidelities... you have a baby on the way. Trust each other, love eachother and I won't have to haul your asses back in here for round two!" They all laughed at Dr. Ian's comments and Dr. Ian smiled at them, he knew they were definitely going to be okay.

"Dr. I... We just want to thank you for helping us. I know you said we didn't need you but I think we honestly did. I told myself dozens of times that I forgave Sam for what he did, but I never truly forgave him until I came here. You gave me the courage to say what needed to be said, and to listen even though I didn't want to hear it. Thank you so... So much." Mercedes said with tears in her eyes. Dr. Ian got up and hugged her tight, not really caring if it wasn't the professional thing to do.

He pulled away and Sam helped Mercedes up and they were about to leave when the doctor stopped them.

"Oh guys wait... I almost forgot!" Dr. Ian said as he went behind his desk. Sam and Mercedes stood there wondering what he could be looking for. Ian came back out with a pink gift bag and handed it to Mercedes. She opened it and pulled out it's contents: a pink and white cotton baby blanket with "For your baby girl" written around the stitching.

Sam and Mercedes both looked at him in shock and Sam said, "Wait... How did you know? We didn't tell anyone that it was a girl."

"I have my ways..." Dr. Ian said with a smile. Sam and Mercedes both hugged their thanks and then made their way towards the door... But not before Dr. Ian said one last thing...

"Be good to each other." he stated simply.

Sam turned back and said, "We will. I promise."

* * *

**THE PAST**:

After Sam got officially released from the hospital weeks later he decided he had unfinished business to attend to. His parents left back for Kentucky after he was released and they begged Sam to come back with them, but he told them he couldn't leave. He wanted to graduate from Mckinley and he wanted to stay for Mercedes. They had a chance at something real this time and he wasn't going to give that up for anything. His parents agreed to let him stay, under the condition that after Mercedes graduated he'd come back. He took the agreement reluctantly only to make them happy. What he didn't tell them however was that he was not only staying in Lima for his beautiful girlfriend, but also because he needed to have a little talk with Shane. He knew he was still locked up in the county jail, but he was going to be moved soon and this was Sam's only chance to get to chat with the man who almost ended his life.

Sam was just about to get off the bus to enter the penitentiary when his phone rang. It was Mercedes. He picked it up as he got off the bus and stood in front of the jail waiting to be let in by the guards.

"Hey baby." Mercedes voice sounded like she was smiling and of course, that made Sam's insides light up a million times over.

"Hey beautiful, why are you calling so early? I thought our date didn't start until about five?" Sam asked looking at his watch.

"Well I wanted to see if we could make this an all day thing. My parents aren't home and I was wondering.. If you could come over?" Mercedes voice deepened and Sam caught on quickly to her innuendo.

"I'd love to babe.. Give me about an hour? I'm kinda doing something right now... Something I should've done a while ago."

Mercedes quickly caught on to what Sam was currently "doing", they actually had an argument about it the other day. She didn't want him anywhere near Shane or the prison but Sam was admant on going. He said he needed closure- Mercedes had no idea why it was so important to her boyfriend, and it scared the crap out of her that they would come face to face again. With fear in her voice she pleaded, "Sam... I know where you are... baby please just turn around and come back home. Please."

Before Sam could answer her they were opening the gate and letting people in. He started to walk towards the prison and said to his girlfriend, "I gotta go, I love you." Before hanging up. Yeah, Mercedes was going to be pissed at him. But right now... He couldn't think about anything else other then Shane.

He sat down at one of the tables in the waiting room. Waiting for shane Sam looked around and saw all kinds of people. Women who brought their babies to see their jail berg boyfriend/husbands... People with badges that said "Group Counselor" on them surround by prisoners in orange... Then he saw the man in question. They had his hands tied by shackles, usually signifying that the prisoner was a dangerous one. Sam had guessed Shane would be anyway- he was big, burly and apparently not the nice guy everyone thought he was. Shane saw who his vistor was and he immediately smiled deviously. The guard sat him down in the chair roughly and told him "Behave Tinsely or else." then he went to stand in the corner. Shane eyed him up and down and licked his seemingly dry lips before beginning to speak.

"Evans... You're not dead." Shane said smiling.

"Nope I'm alive and well thanks to great doctors and a support system you'll never have." Sam said back with snark in his own voice.

"Hmm... Too bad. Remind me when I get out to finish what I started."

"Uh huh... Shane, you shouldn't say those things with so many witnesses around. You don't want to get even more years added to the 10-15 you already got, now do you?" after Sam said that Shane's smile quickly left his face and it was Sam's turn to smile wickedly. Shane's jaw clenched and Sam could tell the pleasantries were soon out of the window.

"What the fuck do you want Evans?" Shane spit out violently. Sam reached forward with his own anger rising and looked Shane dead in the eyes and said, "The only thing I want is for you to look at me right now and listen to what I have to say; you didn't kill me Shane. You tried but you didn't succeed. You're weak, simple asshole who had to research a girl to get her to ever be interested in you. You will never have Mercedes... She's STILL mine. And always will be. You were nothing to her and you will never be nothing to her. I wanted to see you today to let you know... If you ever get out of here, and try to come after her again..." Sam leaned even more forward so he was next to the shell of his ear. He could see shane trying to get out of the shackles and he smiled and finished... "I wont hesitate... I'll kill you."

Sam got up and began to walk away when Shane yelled, "I'll see you in ten years Evans. And you better hope you keep your promise. Cause next time I see you.. It's gonna be a blood bath."

Sam turned around to look at him one last time and said, "Dont worry Shane... I ALWAYS keep my promises." then he winked at him and left.

Sam knew that, that wasn't the right thing to do... Bating Shane like that. But he wanted him to know he did not fear him. And that if he ever decided he wanted a round two- he would be waiting. Sam wasn't only fighting for himself- but for love. His love, who no matter what- he wasn't letting go anytime soon.

* * *

**THE PRESENT:**

"Do you think we will be together forever Sammy?" Mercedes asked as they laid out on the grass in her backyard. She was playing with his hair, curling the bangs with her finger tips when out of nowhere she asked the question. Sam held her closer to him and smiled in her face, admiring her features and contemplating the question at the same time. Would they be together forever? Sam almost laughed out loud. Because in his mind, he knew he would never let her go. All their trials and tribulations seemed to finally be over. It took a while but Sam and Mercedes were finally at peace. They been through so much- from a odd friendship where he had dreams that she was the love of his life, yet he hurt her in the worse way possible, to a relationship that ended before it could begin and now they were back- not to where they started, but to where they wanted to be now. The day after Sam visited Shane in prison he stopped having dreams about them in the future. He didn't know why they stopped, but he was happy they did. He'd come to terms that the dreams were trying to warn him of the dangers of his own insecurities and fears. They were telling him that one, Mercedes was his true love and that he was just blind and oblivious to not see that and two: he would lose her if he didn't listen to what the dreams were trying to say. It seemed to make sense to him now... That even after infidelity or lies and secrets, that love could prevail through all things if they just give it a try. With the knowledge he had now he knew he would nor could ever let her go. She was indefinitely his, her mind, her body and her soul. He owned a piece of heart and she owned a piece his, apart they parish, but together they would be whole.

Shane, summer nights, the woman from the strip club, bad arguments, misplaced anger and Sam's recovery was all in their past now.. And if Sam said so himself- he just wanted to forget it all and start anew. Because he had inside information that his and Mercedes' future... Wasn't going to be that bad at all.

Sam pulled her on top of him and she giggled as he gripped her sides. Her curly brown hair fell forward in his face and he took his hands and pushed back the waves behind her ear. She smiled down on him and he leaned forward to peck her lips once... Twice then another before finally answering her question.

"Yes, I believe we will be together forever Mercy." He said with a smile.

"Oh yeah? How do you know?" Mercedes asked with her own smile seeming to grow wider and wider on her face. Sam flipped them over so he was on top of her and in between her legs. He ran his hands under her dress slowly, and Mercedes couldn't stop her smile now. Sam kissed her neck and her cheek, before answering...

"It's simple..._ I dreamed it_."

**The End.**

_A/N: so that's the end. If you didn't like it, tell me. I had fun writing this! Thanks for reading:)_  
_Oh and one little last thing: Did anyone notice that the dreams Sam were having NEVER changed? *troll face... Flies away*_


End file.
